Search

Background: Bordetella trematum is unknown to most clinicians and microbiologists. However, this Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium can be responsible for ulcer superinfection but also bacteremia and sometimes death by septic shock., Case Report: We report the case of erysipelas due to B. trematum with bacteremia in an immunocompromised 88-year-old Caucasian patient., Conclusion: In immunocompromised patients, unusual microbial agents such as B. trematum can be responsible for cutaneous and systemic infections, requiring specific antibiotic therapy. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the need for specific bacterial identification such as matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing in the context of atypical evolution of erysipelas in such patients., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

The species Bordetella trematum was first described in 1996. Currently only eleven cases were published. We describe the first case of Bordetella trematum issued from bacteremia with a patient who has severe burns in Morocco. The identification was not possible by conventional microbiological methods where the resort to 16S ARNr sequencing. The use of molecular methods, including sequencing of the 16S ARNr, is currently an essential complementary tool to identify microbiological pathogens.

Bordetella is a gram-negative, glucose non-fermenting bacillus, consisting of many host-associated species. B. trematum has previously been identified in wound infections, but rarely known to be a source of bacteremia. Currently, 16S rRNA sequencing represents the reference standard method by which identification is made. Herein, we present a case of fatal B. trematum bacteremia with septic shock. The presumed primary site of the infection was a rapidly developing left leg deep soft tissue infection without necrotizing fasciitis. B. trematum should now be considered as a significant pathogen in sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]