Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of 35 ill patients with outbreak-associated Listeria monocytogenes infections associated with caramel apples
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Median age, years (range) | |
| All cases | 43 (0–92) |
| Cases not associated with pregnancy | 62 (7–92) |
| Female sex, n (%) | |
| All cases | 15 (43) |
| Cases not associated with pregnancy | 8 (33) |
| Pregnancy-associated cases, n (%) | |
| Total | 11 (31) |
| Pregnant women | 5/11 (45) |
| Neonates | 6/11 (55) |
| Underlying conditions*, n (%) | |
| Cirrhosis or hepatitis | 2/13 (15) |
| Diabetes | 3/13 (23) |
| Heart disease (congenital and acquired) | 2/13 (15) |
| Haemodialysis | 4/13 (31) |
| Myelodysplastic syndrome | 1/13 (8) |
| No underlying condition† | 4/13 (31) |
| Hospitalizations, n (%) | 34 (97) |
| Reported deaths, n (%) | 7 (20) |
| Listeriosis as contributing factor | 3 (9) |
| Fetal loss | 1 (3) |
| L. monocytogenes source site, n (%)‡ | |
| Blood | 26 (72) |
| Cerebrospinal fluid | 5 (14) |
| Ascitic fluid | 1 (3) |
| Placenta | 1 (3) |
| Other | 3 (8)§ |
*
Excludes pregnancy-associated cases. Complete information on underlying conditions was available for 13 patients.
†
Includes three otherwise healthy children between the ages of 5 and 15 years and a 78-year-old female.
‡
One child had a blood isolate matching one outbreak pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern and a cerebrospinal fluid isolate matching another outbreak PFGE pattern.
§
Includes specimens from a left arm, sputum, and one site reported as other.