When Listeria monocytogenes goes to sleep

A serious infection of dietary origin that is caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, listeriosis is associated with severe clinical symptoms and a high mortality rate in individuals whose immune system is weakened. INRA* scientists, working in collaboration with their colleagues at Institut Pasteur**, have demonstrated the novel capacity of L. monocytogenes to generate dormant intracellular forms that could be harboured, unsuspected, by their host. These findings are published on 30^th November 2017 in PLoS Pathogens . Listeriosis is a disease caused by eating foods that have been contaminated by the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. It is an infrequent condition but it is a particular danger to individuals with an impaired immune system, the elderly and new-born infants. It also affects farmed livestock. The pathogenic potential of L. monocytogenesis linked to its ability to invade different cells in the body, such as epithelial cells in the intestine, liver, brain and placenta.