A 35-year-old gravida 4 para 3 presents with a fever and diarrhea in the setting of exposure to raw and unpasteurized foods. Symptoms are consistent with listeriosis and a local outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes is identified. The patient is managed inpatient with empiric high-dose amoxicillin for 14 days while awaiting blood culture results, along with fetal monitoring and supportive care to prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. L. monocytogenes causes the clinical disease listeriosis and about 16% of cases occur in pregnant women. Increased susceptibility to listeriosis is partly due to reduced T cell immunity. Symptoms can range from asymptomatic to severe disease with neurological symptoms. Transplacental infection can occur with neonatal disease even in the absence of maternal symptoms. Maternal, perinatal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality are high. The best strategy is primary prevention by avoiding high-risk foods such as deli meat and soft cheeses, along with raw and unpasteurized foods. Safe food storage and preparation techniques also have a role in decreasing infection from cross contamination. Individual decision-making and a discussion of risks should guide individual food related decisions.

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Overview of gastrointestinal complications including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, feeding tube complications, bowel perforation and obstruction, and neutropenic enterocolitis

Microbes have always been thought to be a critical inhabitant of the colobine gastrointestinal tract given their ability to break down the fiber and toxins often associated with a leafy diet. In this chapter, we summarize current knowledge of the colobine gut microbiome and propose topics for future study. We begin by describing the composition and function of the colobine hindgut microbiome as it compares to other primates, as well as ruminants. Next we explore the microbiome as a tool for understanding and assessing colobine health outcomes both in captivity and in response to degradation of habitats in the wild. Finally, we outline some best practices and caveats for future studies of the colobine gut microbiome more generally. Although there is currently a dearth of studies describing colobine host-gut microbe interactions, existing data suggest that the potential for the gut microbiome to influence colobine health, ecology, and evolution is great.

Infectious diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract are caused by a vast array of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic organisms. Pathologists are often called upon to distinguish infectious enterocolitis from other inflammatory disorders and, when possible, identify the causative pathogen or group of pathogens. Thus, pathologists should be aware of the patterns of injury and morphologic features that suggest infectious enterocolitides and should be able to generate a reasonable but narrow differential diagnosis that guides clinical management. This chapter reviews the clinical, gross, and, microscopic features of common and emerging infectious diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract and emphasizes the pathologic findings that aid the appropriate classification of these diseases in daily practice.