A 30 year old woman with a bad obstetric history presents with fever. The blood culture from the patient grows gram-positive small to medium coccobacilli that are pleomorphic, occurring in short chains. Direct wet from the culture shows tumbling motility. The most likely organism is -: (A) Listera monocytogenes, (B) Corynebacterium sp., (C) Enterococcus sp., (D) Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
Answer is A. Listeria in pregnancy can lead to abortion.
Febrile woman with a bad obstetric history presents with gram-positive coccobacilli and tumbling motility is suggestive of Listeria monocytogenes.