[Initial antibiotic therapy in maternal-fetal infections which include ampicillin even in countries where listeriosis is an incidental disease].

Neonatal listeriosis is an exceptional disease in Northern Africa. Hence, protocols for maternal-fetal infection treatment include only a third generation cephalosporin and an aminoside. This protocol does not take into account the possibility of Listeria monocytogenes infection. We report a fatal case of neonatal listeriosis in Tunisia. The use of first antibiotics in maternal-foetal infection must be reconsidered when lacking sufficient bacteriological data and include systematically ampicillin in presumptive antibiotic protocols.