RSS Feeds
Unidentified Gram-Negative Rod Infection
A New Disease of Man
- THOMAS BUTLER, M.D.;
- ROBERT E. WEAVER, M.D., Ph.D.;
- T. K. VENKATA RAMANI, M.D.;
- CHARLES T. UYEDA, Ph.D.;
- RAYMOND A. BOBO, Ph.D.;
- JI SO RYU, M.D.; and
- RICHARD B. KOHLER, M.D.
- Baltimore, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Palo Alto, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; and Indianapolis, Indiana
Abstract
A Gram-negative bacillus that defies identification was isolated from blood cultures of 17 patients with fever. Fifteen patients were male adults, and 14 patients had underlying diseases, including previous splenectomy in five, which impair host defenses against infection. Illnesses occurred in the summer and autumn in 14 cases and had been recently preceded by dog bites in 10 cases. Clinical syndromes included cellulitis in seven cases, primary bacteremia without localization in four, purulent meningitis in four, and endocarditis in three. Three patients died. The organism grows slowly on blood or chocolate agar in 10% CO2, is oxidase- and catalase-positive, and is negative for nitrate reduction, indole production, and urease. It produces acid from glucose, lactose, and maltose. These features distinguish it from all previously described and classified bacteria. Furthermore, the epidemiologic features of the patients suggest that this organism is an opportunistic invader and may have an animal reservoir in nature.
Article and Author Information
-
▸From the Department of Medicine, Baltimore City Hospitals, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, Maryland; Special Bacteriology Section, Center for Disease Control; Atlanta, Georgia; Veterans Administration Hospital; Palo Alto, California; University of Alabama Hospitals and Clinics; Birmingham, Alabama; Channing Laboratory, Boston City Hospital, and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts; and Marion County General Hospital; Indianapolis, Indiana.
-
Grant support: by Training Grant No. A1 00009 from the National Institutes of Health, and HD 03693 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
-
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Thomas Butler, M.D.; Division of Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals; Cleveland, OH 44106.
-
- Received March 29, 1976.
- Accepted October 5, 1976.
Related Clinical Content
