listeria

/ləˈstɪriə/

/lɪˈstiriə/

Listeria is a bacteria that can contaminate food and make people very sick. In pregnant and elderly people, the infection caused by listeria is particularly dangerous.

Infants and people with compromised immune systems are also especially vulnerable to listeriosis, the infection that the listeria bacteria can cause. The most serious cases can lead to blood infection and meningitis. Hand washing and thoroughly cooking raw food can help prevent the growth of listeria, and susceptible people can stay safe by avoiding certain foods, including soft cheese and raw hot dogs. Listeria is named in honor of the groundbreaking early 20th-century bacteriologist Joseph Lister.

Definitions of listeria

1. noun

   any species of the genus Listeria, a bacteria that can contaminate food and make people very sick
   types:

   L. monocytogenes, Listeria monocytogenes

   the type species of the genus Listeria; can cause meningitis, encephalitis, septicemia, endocarditis, abortion, abscesses, listeriosis

   type of:

   eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria

   a large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls; motile types have flagella