Valvular and myocardial abscesses due to Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae Bacteremia without Endocarditis: Rapid Identification from Positive Blood Culture by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry. A Case Report and Literature Review

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a Gram-positive bacillus that is infrequently responsible for infections in humans. Three forms have been classified: a localized cutaneous form (erysipeloid) caused by traumatic penetration of E. rhusiopathiae, a generalized cutaneous form and a septicemic form. The latter type of disease has been previously associated with a high incidence of endocarditis. Here we report a case of E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia in a 74-year-old man, probably started from an erysipeloid form, in which endocarditis did not develop. This case presents some particular and uncommon features: i) no correlation with animal source; ii) correlation between bacteremia and erysipeloid lesion; iii) absence of endocarditis. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry allowed to obtain a rapid identification (within 4 hours from bottle positivity) of E. rhusiopathiae. Together with direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing, this approach could improve the rate of appropriate therapy for bloodstream infections due to this fastidious pathogen.

Clinical and echocardiographic findings in an 8 year old Brown Swiss cow with myocardial abscess

Intramyocardial abscesses are rare in cattle and may lead to unspecific clinical signs. This case report describes the clinical and echocardiographic findings in an 8 year old Brown Swiss cow presented with an intramural myocardial abscess. The main clinical findings were anorexia, drop in milk yield, fever, tachycardia, and hyperfibrinogenemia. Neither heart murmurs nor cardiac arrhythmias were present on auscultation. Transthoracic echocardiographic examination revealed a prominent intramural mass embedded in the left ventricular free wall and bulging into the lumen of the left ventricle. Diagnosis was confirmed at necropsy. A culture of the abscess grew Trueperella pyogenes.

Septicemia and Aortic Valve Endocarditis due to Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in a Homeless Man

We report a case of bacterial endocarditis due to Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in a homeless man with no animal exposure. His course was complicated by an allergic reaction to ampicillin, urinary bladder infection, respiratory failure, and acute kidney injury. He recovered completely after aortic valve replacement and a 6-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone.

[Mitral valve endocarditis after Turkish "Festival of Sacrifice"]

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is the causative agent of swine erysipelas. Systemic infections caused by E. rhusiopathiae are rare, but often (90%) associated with endocarditis. In about 60% of cases endocarditis develops on normal heart valves, and despite appropriate antibiotic therapy about one-third of the patients requires valve replacement. We report the case of a housewife, who developed a mitral valve endocarditis due to E. rhusiopathiae after preparing meat for the Turkish "Festival of Sacrifice".

[Baker Rosenbach erysipeloid appearing as a granulomatous cheilitis]

BACKGROUND

Baker-Rosenbach's erysipeloid is a skin infection caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae. It occurs essentially in humans exposed to animals colonized with this germ such as swine. The typical skin lesion, an erythematous macule generally localized to inoculation site, frequently in the extremities, quickly resolves spontaneously. The lips are an atypical site of this infection. We describe a case of chronic granulomatosis cheilitis in a farmer caused by E. rhusiopathiae.

CASE REPORT

A 40-year-old farmer, a wild-boar hunter and chronic smoker with no history of tuberculosis, injury or insect bites, presented at our dermatology unit with ulcerative macrocheilitis of the lower lip ongoing for 1 year. Its surface was purulent. A biopsy specimen showed non-caseating epithelioid granulomas. Laboratory and radiological screening for tuberculosis, sarcoidosis and Crohn's disease, and parasitological examination for Leishmaniasis proved negative. Bacteriological examination identified E. rhusiopathiae and labial Baker-Rosenbach's erysipeloid was diagnosed. The lesion healed after 15 days of treatment with parenteral penicillin G (12m IU/d), totally disappearing after 3 months.

DISCUSSION

Swine erysipelas usually occurs in man as Baker-Rosenbach's erysipeloid. This localized form of infection with E. rhusiopathiae is the most frequent and the lesion typically observed is a violaceous plaque, less inflammatory with induration; spontaneous regression occurs after a mean 3 months. To our knowledge, this case is the first report of ulceration associated with macrocheilitis. Histologically, the granuloma directed our investigation towards the principal aetiologies of granulomatosis cheilitis, such as tuberculosis considering the epidemiological context, sarcoidosis or Crohn's disease. The diagnosis of erysipeloid was supported by epidemiological evidence (occupational exposure), isolation of the germ at the lesion and its regression on treatment with penicillin G.

CONCLUSION

Diagnosis of E. rhusiopathiae infection was confirmed by bacteriology. However, the hypothesis concerning the pathogenesis of its chronic course in our patient remains a subject of discussion.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in differentiation of erysipelothrix species strains

We report here the first analysis of Erysipelothrix spp. using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Seventy strains of Erysipelothrix spp. were analyzed. SmaI, AscI, and NotI were tested for the ability to cleave the DNA extracted from those strains, and among them, SmaI was the most reliable enzyme. Sixty-three distinct PFGE patterns were produced, and no DNA degradation was observed, allowing the identification of all of the strains. Based on these results and on those of a previous analysis using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and ribotyping, PFGE with SmaI might be considered to be more sensitive than those methods and to be the best method for epidemiological studies of strains of this genus.