[Listeria excreters and their epidemiological significance (author's transl)].

By using the best bacteriological methods of investigation and reading techniques we were able to discover 82 excreters from stool samples of 841 persons and to culture 113 Listeria monocytogenes strains of different serotypes (1/2a, 4a, 4b, 4ab). Following up several excreters over a longer time (1 1/2 years) revealed periods with positive and negative results. Strains of listeria isolated from the stool samples of pregnant women have a particular significance and act as pointers to virulence. In the presence of clinical factors suspicious of listeriosis and the excretion of serotypes considered virulent, prophylactic therapy with ampicillin should be carried out during pregnancy.