Lab Med Online.  2021 Jan;11(1):73-77. 10.47429/lmo.2021.11.1.73.

A Case of Bergeyella zoohelcum Isolated from a Patient with Cellulitis after a Dog Bite

• Jung K
• Park JH
• Kang CK
• Kim TS
• Park H

• KMID: 2525785
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.47429/lmo.2021.11.1.73

Abstract

Bergeyella zoohelcum is an aerobic gram-negative bacillus frequently found in the normal oral flora of mammals. It rarely causes human infection; most reported infection cases were associated with animal bites. In this study, we report a case of cellulitis after a dog bite caused by B. zoohelcum. A sixty-six-year-old woman presented to the hospital due to soft tissue infection (a finger); the woman was bitten by a dog two days prior to the hospital visit. Gram-negative bacilli were isolated from pus cultures; identified via MALDI-TOF MS, 16s rRNA sequencing, and automated identification systems revealed B. zoohelcum. This is the first report of an infectious disease caused by B. zoohelcum in Korea.

Keyword

Bergeyella zoohelcum; Cellulitis; Dog bite

Figure

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  Fig. 1 An emergency room picture of a dog bite on the left third finger.

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  Fig. 2 Morphological characterization of the Bergeyella zoohelcum clinical isolate. (A) Circular, translucent, and sticky bacterial colonies grew on a blood agar plate. (B) Gram staining of the Bergeyella zoohelcum shows gram-negative rod-shaped bacilli (magnification: 1,000×).

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