individuals at increased risk for being infected and becoming seriously ill with Listeria include the following groups:
Pregnant women: They are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis. About one-third of listeriosis cases happen during pregnancy.
Newborns: Newborns rather than the pregnant women themselves suffer the serious effects of infection in pregnancy.
Persons with weakened immune systems
Persons with cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease
Persons with AIDS: They are almost 300 times more likely to get listeriosis than people with normal immune systems.
Persons who take glucocorticosteroid medications (such as cortisone)
The elderly [11, 20, 21]