Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in CSF from Three Patients with Meningoencephalitis by Next-Generation Sequencing

• Published in: Journal of clinical neurology (Seoul, Korea) Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 446 - 451
• Main Authors: Yao, Ming, Zhou, Jiali, Zhu, Yicheng, Zhang, Yinxin, Lv, Xia, Sun, Ruixue, Shen, Ao, Ren, Haitao, Cui, Liying, Guan, Hongzhi, Wu, Honglong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neurological Association 01.10.2016; 대한신경과학회
• Subjects: Original; 신경과학; Listeria monocytogenes; meningoencephalitis; next generation sequencing; cerebrospinal fluid
• ISSN: 1738-6586; 2005-5013
• DOI: 10.3988/jcn.2016.12.4.446

Encephalitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is rare but sometimes fatal. Early diagnosis is difficult using routine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests, while next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly being used for the detection and characterization of pathogens. This study set up and applied unbiased NGS to detect L. monocytogenes in CSF collected from three cases of clinically suspected listeria meningoencephalitis. Three cases of patients with acute/subacute meningoencephalitis are reported. Magnetic resonance imaging and blood cultures led to a suspected diagnosis of L. monocytogenes, while the CSF cultures were negative. Unbiased NGS of CSF identified and sequenced reads corresponding to L. monocytogenes in all three cases. This is the first report highlighting the feasibility of applying NGS of CSF as a diagnostic method for central nervous system (CNS) L. monocytogenes infection. Routine application of this technology in clinical microbiology will significantly improve diagnostic methods for CNS infectious diseases.