listeriosis

noun lis·te·ri·o·sis \lis-ˌtir-ē-ˈō-səs\

plural lis·te·ri·o·ses\-ˌsēz\

Definition of LISTERIOSIS

: a serious encephalitic disease of a wide variety of animals that is caused by a bacterium (Listeria monocytogenes) and that in animals is often fatal but in humans is usually not fatal

Origin of LISTERIOSIS

New Latin, from Listeria, from Joseph Lister

First Known Use: 1941

Medical Dictionary

listeriosis

noun lis·te·ri·o·sis \(ˌ)lis-ˌtir-ē-ˈō-səs\

plural lis·te·ri·o·ses also lis·ter·el·lo·ses \-ˌsēz\

Medical Definition of LISTERIOSIS

: a serious disease of animals and humans that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Listeria (L. monocytogenes), that in animals causes severe encephalitis accompanied by disordered movements and is often fatal, that is contracted by humans especially from contaminated food (as processed meats or unpasteurized milk or cheese), that in otherwise healthy people typically takes the form of a mild flulike illness or has no noticeable symptoms, that in neonates, the elderly, and the immunocompromised often causes serious sometimes fatal illness with symptoms including meningitis and sepsis, and that in pregnant women usually causes only mild illness in the mother but often results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth—see circling disease