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While Branhamella catarrhalis is now recognized as an important pathogen, this is only the fifth reported case of endocarditis caused by it. The production of beta-lactamase by many strains and its resistance to vancomycin and clindamycin complicate the choice of antibiotic therapy.

After closed reduction and casting of a tibial fracture in a 69-year-old diabetic man, a gangrenous lesion developed under the cast. Cultures of debrided tissue revealed multiple bacteria, including Bacillus sp, plus two fungi, Fusarium sp and a zygomycete identified as Cunninghamella bertholletiae. Large nonseptate hyphae in thrombosed blood vessels suggested that C bertholletiae played a major role in the development of the infection. Recovery of organisms from our patient's wound and from the cast padding suggests that the wound infection was acquired from nonsterile dressings.