Listeria monocytogenes: a rare cause of pleural effusion in a patient with congestive cardiac failure.

We report the case of a 65 year old immunocompetent man with a listerial pleural effusion. Infection of the pulmonary parenchyma and pleura with listeria monocytogenes has been reported in small numbers of immunocompromised patients but there have been only two previous reports of pulmonary listeria in non-compromised hosts.