Listeria monocytogenes septicemia in an 80-year-old man is described. On the day before clinical symptoms appeared the patient had eaten homemade salted mushrooms, rufous milkcap (Lactarius rufus Fr.). L. monocytogenes serotype 4b was isolated in blood cultures. The mushrooms which had been stored in cold for 5 months before consumption contained the same listeria serotype at a level of 10(6) CFU/g. Salt content (NaCl) of the mushrooms was 7.5%. Fever and diarrhea disappeared with penicillin therapy and the patient was discharged after 4 weeks in the hospital.

Classification and identification of fermentative actinomycetes are labor-intensive and problematic. In this study, we evaluated the applicability and reliability of the RapID ANA II system (Innovative Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.) and the discriminatory value of the API ZYM system (Societes Analytab Products Inc., La Balme Les Grottes, France) in the identification of Actinomyces-like bacteria by using conventional methods as a reference. Eighty-five strains, including 71 isolates from mixed anaerobic infections and 14 reference strains, were tested. The RapID ANA II system correctly identified all Actinomyces odontolyticus strains and 65% ofAcfinomyces israelii strains. All Arcanobacterium haemolyticum strains were misidentified as Actinomyces pyogenes. The most common isolates in the study were Actinomyces meyeri-like organisms, 84% of which, however, were aerotolerant. The identification of these aerotolerant strains thus remains unresolved and warrants further studies. New characteristics and changes to the conventional API ZYM enzyme profiles are suggested. The API ZYM enzyme profiles of A. odontolyticus and A.