Soft Tissue Infection and Bacteremia Caused by Shewanella putrefaciens

Abstract

Shewanella putrefaciens is as yet rarely responsible for clinical syndromes in humans. However, a case involving multiple organs in an elderly male under treatment with appropriate steroids confirms that attention should be devoted to unusual pathogens. CASE REPORTAn 87-year-old Caucasian male who had come back a few days before from holidays on the Adriatic shore was admitted because of shivering, fever up to 39.8°C, and erysipelas of the left forearm. He complained of malaise, extreme weakness, and severe pain at the upper left extremity. No other relevant symptoms were present. There was a history of "rheumatic myalgia" (not well diagnosable) for which he was on long-term, low-dose methylprednisolone (4 mg once daily); he denied other previous illnesses of note and regular consumption of any drugs.On exam, he presented as an obese man with a typical Cushing-like face and was febrile (39°C) but hemodynamically stable. A 1.5-cm-long cutaneous-subcutaneous wound was present on the skin near the left elbow, together with erysipelas affecting the whole left forearm. Small-bubbled rattling noises were heard at the level of the left pulmonary basis. In view of the fever, immediate blood (three sets each in aerobic and anaerobic bottles) (BD BACTEC, Benex Ltd., Shannon, Ireland), urine, and stool cultures were taken. Wound exudate was not cultured, nor was skin biopsy performed. Hematological investigations revealed a white cell count of 13.9 ϫ 10 9 / liter, a hemoglobin level of 14.0 g/dl, and a platelet count of 167 ϫ 10 9 /liter. C-reactive protein was at 13.5 mg/dl (normal range, 0 to 0.5 mg/dl), and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 37 mm (normal range, 0 to 10 mm). Chest X-ray film showed a segmental infiltrate in the left lower lobe very close to the diaphragm muscle and consistent with pneumonia. No sputum cultures were obtained, and the stable general conditions of the patient suggested delaying a bronchoscopy in order to recover lung aspirate. The patient was given empirical antimicrobial therapy with intravenous

Transcriptome Analysis ofShewanella oneidensisMR-1 in Response to Elevated Salt Conditions

“…Shewanella species inhabit diverse environments, including spoiled food (11) and infected animals (35), deep-sea and freshwater lake sediments (8,45,54), and oilfield waste sites (44). Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a facultative, gram-negative bacterium, was isolated from sediments of Lake Oneida in New York (32).…”

Occurrence of Potentially Pathogenic Vibrio and related species in Seafoods obtained from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

“…Infections from Shewanella putrifaciens mainly occurs in soft tissues such as skin, Intra-abdominal areas or in the blood (Pagani 2003;Mc Nair, 2010). Plesiomonas shigelloides were found in 6 samples of Fishes and 1 sample of Cuttlefish.…”

Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (Patera Foot) in Immigrants, Spain

“…Because automated systems are unable to distinguish between the 2 species, a number of infections attributed to S. putrefaciens probably correspond to S. algae (4). S. algae is considered a rare opportunistic pathogen for humans, frequently involving immunocompromised hosts (6,8,9), and are usually part of a polymicrobial infection (6,10,11), which may mask its clinical importance. The presence of chronic leg ulcers in the context of peripheral vascular disease occurs commonly in adults with S. algae SSTI (6,10,12,13), and the affi nity of S. algae for necrotic or ischemic tissues has been well described (12,14,15).…”