Safety and shedding of an attenuated strain of Listeria monocytogenes with a deletion of actA/plcB in adult volunteers: a dose escalation study of oral inoculation.

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular bacterial pathogen which causes bacteremia and has a tropism for the central nervous system and a propensity to cause maternofetal infection. L. monocytogenes has been shown to be an effective prophylactic and a therapeutic vaccine vector for viral and tumor antigens in animal models.