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Corynebacterium freneyi is a recently described alpha-glucosidase-positive species of the genus CORYNEBACTERIUM: To our knowledge, there is no description of human infection due to this species. We report on a case of bacteremia due to C. freneyi following vascular surgery.
By the use of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis we identified 28 of 31 Corynebacterium spp. isolated from bone and joint infections, including species never before isolated in such infections. Phenotypic analysis led to the correct identification of 8 of 31. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis appears to be a good technique for identification of clinical strains of Corynebacterium spp.
A strain of an unknown coryneform bacterium was repeatedly isolated in pure culture from the blood of a patient affected by endocarditis. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that this isolate represented a new subline within the genus Corynebacterium. This new taxon can be identified by the presence of corynomycolic acids and its enzymatic activities and fermentation of sugars. Acid production from glucose and maltose, pyrazinamidase and alkaline phoshatase activities, and hippurate hydrolysis were the most characteristic phenotypic features of the bacterium. On the basis of both phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, it is proposed that this isolate be classified as a novel species, Corynebacterium tuscaniae sp. nov. The type strain, ISS-5309, has been deposited in the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC BAA-1141) and in the Culture Collection of the University of Göteborg (CCUG 51321).
An investigation of 272 non-human primates (75 Macacca cynomolgus, 97 Macacca mulatta and 100 Cercopithecus aethiops) revealed a high incidence of respiratory disease caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans, Staphylococci, Diplococci and Streptococci. Escherichia coli was also found as a secondary invader. Most of the infections occurred during winter in Macaca cynomolgus and were caused by Corynebacterium ulcerans and Diplococcus pneumoniae. The C. ulcerans strains were phage type VI G. A phage type III C strain was isolated from a Macacca mulatta. The high incidence of C. ulcerans suggests that this organism plays a significant role in the pathology of respiratory disease in the non-human primate.
Corynebacterium equi, a known cause of pneumonitis in foals, calves, and swine, was isolated from the sputum and bronchial washings of a child with pneumonitis and leukemia. Clinical improvement followed the administration of chloramphenicol, and cultures of sputum specimens were sterile until relapse occurred after antibiotic therapy was terminated. Cure was achieved with a second course of chloramphenicol therapy. Corynebacterium equi was not isolated from 1,181 samples of sputum from other immunosuppressed children with cancer.
OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical features of Corynebacterium urealyticum urinary tract infection in dogs and cats and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of C urealyticum isolates. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 5 dogs and 2 cats. PROCEDURE: Medical records of dogs and cats for which C urealyticum was isolated from urine samples were reviewed. Isolates from clinical cases, along with previously lyophilized unsubtyped isolates of Corynebacterium spp collected between 1977 and 1995, were examined and, if subtyped as C urealyticum, tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. RESULTS: Signalment of infected animals was variable. Prior micturition disorders were common, and all animals had signs of lower urinary tract disease at the time C urealyticum infection was diagnosed. Median urine pH was 8.0; WBCs and bacteria were variably seen in urine sediment. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 14 C urealyticum isolates revealed that all were susceptible or had intermediate susceptibility to chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and vancomycin and most were susceptible to enrofloxacin. Thickening of the bladder wall and accumulation of sediment were common ultrasonographic findings. Contrast radiography or cystoscopy revealed findings consistent with encrusting cystitis in 3 dogs. Infection resolved in 2 dogs following surgical debridement of bladder plaques and antimicrobial administration. In 2 other dogs and 1 cat treated with antimicrobials, infection with C urealyticum resolved, but urinary tract infection with a different bacterial species developed. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that preexisting urinary tract disorders are common in dogs and cats with C urealyticum infection. Treatment with appropriate antimicrobials in combination with surgical debridement might eliminate C urealyticum infection.
Corynebacterium jeikeium is a slow-growing multiresistant micro-organism. It causes serious opportunistic infections in patients with long hospital stays who receive broad-spectrum antibiotics. It can be isolated from blood and other sites in neutropenic, immunosuppressed bone marrow recipients and in patients with indwelling catheters. Cases of infection related to bone and joint replacements are rare. This case is the first where Corynebacterium jeikeium has been isolated from an infected knee following total knee arthroplasty.
Corynebacterium afermentans, a species recently identified, has previously been isolated from human blood cultures. We report the case of a previously healthy 39-year-old man who developed a brain abscess and a liver abscess due to Corynebacterium afermentans subsp. lipophilum. The liver abscess penetrated through the diaphragm to cause pleural effusion and periostitis of the ribs. We believe this is the first reported case of disseminated infection with abscess formation due to this organism.
The clinical and laboratory findings in two cases of aerobic Corynebacterium Group JK infection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are described. These organisms have occasionally been reported as a cause of serious infections in man but have not been reported as a cause of shunt infection. In both cases, CSF pleocytosis was limited to 20 or 60 cells with variable protein and sugar values. Fever was a constant finding, frequently accompanied by signs of central nervous system dysfunction. Corynebacterium Group JK organisms are common contaminants of the normal skin flora. When isolated from the blood and/or the CSF of a patient with a CSF shunt who has symptoms and signs compatible with infection, the organism should not be dismissed as a contaminant. A significant feature of this group is its resistance to almost all presently available antibiotics including penicillin, the cephalosporins, and the aminoglycosides. These organisms are, however, sensitive to vancomycin.
Sepsis with a previously undescribed species of Corynebacterium was documented in four patients. All patients had predisposing illness at the time of infection, three patients having leukemia in relapse and one having a porencephalic cyst and a ventriculoatrial shunt. The isolates from blood cultures had a characteristic metallic sheen when grown on blood agar. They were resistant to most antibiotics tested, including the penicillins, but were uniformly sensitive to vancomycin. Common biochemical characteristics, the metallic sheen, and the unusual antibiotic sensitivity pattern suggest that these isolates comprise a new species or group of closely related species of Corynebacterium that is capable of infection in man.
A patient with nonspecific urethritis (NSU) and his consort were examined for infection with NSU corynebacteria, mycoplasmas, and gonococci. No classic and T-mycoplasmas or gonococci were cultured, but one species of NSU corynebacteria was isolated not only from the patient's urethral discharge during three episodes of NSU but also from his consort. It was not isolated after successful treatment of the patient with tetracycline and the use of condoms prevented reoccurrence of urethritis. This NSU corynebacterium was isolated previously from one epididymitis patient and two NSU patients but not from any of the normal male and female subjects examined. Therefore, this strain is considered to be one of the etiologic agents of NSU and female subjects are asymptomatic carriers. In consequence, it is suggested that NSU corynebacteria which are commensals and pathogens of the male and female urogenital tracts should be incorporated in a new species, of the Coryneform group, and that this strain should be the type species, Corynebacterium genitalium n. sp.
Three cases of encrusted cystitis caused by Corynebacterium group D2 are described. The vesical damage previous to the establishment of this bacteria is noteworthy and the very rapid increase in urease activity explains the pathogenesis of the situation. Thus allowing for its identification and is relevant to treatment. Cloudy urine with a strong smell of ammonium, alkaline pH and crystals of ammonium magnesium phosphate in the sediment will bring this microorganism and its characteristic growth pattern to mind thus avoiding a falsely negative report. Treatment combining an antimicrobial agent and cystoscopic resection of the encrusted stones, where Corynebacterium group D2 has lodged, has proved efficacious. Vancomycin and teicoplanin have always been active and are eliminated through the kidneys.
Among the post neurosurgery infections the meningitis due to Corynebacterium jeikeium are rare, particularly without central nervous system devices. We report a case of a 78 year-old patient with chronic myeloproliferative syndrome, who developed an acute meningeal syndrome by Corynebacterium jeikeium post hypophyseal macroadenoma resection.
Corynebacterium kutscheri was isolated from the oral cavities of 12 male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) which were about 12 months old. At 1, 5, and 9 months after initial isolation of C. kutscheri from the oral cavity, hamsters were euthanatized, and attempts were made to culture C. kutscheri from 13 additional sites. Corynebacterium kutscheri was isolated from nine hamsters, and regardless of the hamsters' ages, the organisms were most frequently isolated from the oral cavity (100%), esophagus (100%), cecal content (100%), and colon and rectum (88.9%). Isolation rates in the nasal cavity were 66.7%, followed by 55.5% in the trachea and 33.3% in the submaxillary lymph nodes. The number of the organisms found in the submaxillary lymph nodes and esophagus was 10(3) to 10(4) CFU/g. The number found in the cecal content and in the colon and rectum was 10(2) to 10(5) CFU/g. The organisms were not isolated from lung, stomach, kidney, spleen, and mesenteric lymph node tissues. The hamsters had neither clinical signs nor lesions. However, 7 of 12 animals had low agglutinating antibody titers. The Syrian hamster can therefore be an asymptomatic carrier of C. kutscheri.
The public immunization program against diphtheria, established in 1941, has almost eradicated the disease in Denmark, and 1956 became the first year without any notified cases. Since then, toxigenic strains have only been isolated five times--three cases of clinical diphtheria due to Corynebacterium diphtheriae biovar. mitis and two cases of tonsillitis/pharyngitis due to Corynebacterium ulcerans. The source of the infection was not identified in any of the cases. The first case of diphtheria in 1968 was imported from abroad. The following two cases in 1983 and 1985 were due to strains of the same phage type and peptide profile as the strains isolated during the epidemic in Sweden in 1984-1986. This indicates that the Danish cases and the Swedish epidemic derived from the same source. The diphtheria immunity of the Danish population is decreasing, and the level of protection is approaching the Swedish level. The impact is that a situation like that in Sweden may be anticipated with diphtheria epidemic in the lowest socio-economical groups--the skid row dwellers, alcoholics and drug abusers--if the immunization program against diphtheria is not intensified.
An outbreak of Corynebacterium pyogenes mastitis ("Summer Mastitis") was observed in a group of 96 heifers. The outbreak affected 8 animals, of which 7 were too young for breeding. The disease incidence was highest in calves 2 to 4 months old. Cases were observed over an initial estimated 14 day period with a further case being detected 14 days subsequently. Corynebacterium pyogenes mastitis has not been reported in calves this age. Factors postulated to influence the outbreak include the presence of large numbers of flies, intersucking of calves, and possible viral disease.
Investigations were carried out with 24 sheep divided into two groups of twelve animals. The first group were infected via the lateral recessus of the tarsal joint with 2 cm3 of a 24-hour broth culture of Corynebacterium pyogenes, and the second one were infected i/v with 3 cm3 of the same culture. The changes in the total protein, protein fractions, and blood electrolites in the blood were followed up. It was found that the infection of Corynebacterium pyogenes affected the total reactivation of the animals and led to immunobiologic reconstruction changes. There were hyperproteinemia which depended on the route of infection as well as the severity of its course, and hyperglobulinemia which was "at the expense of' blood albumin. Noticed were also hypercalcemia, hyperpotassemia, and lower sodium and phosphorus levels.
The local appearance of various immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes in the urinary tract during ascending pyelonephritis was studied in rats experimentally infected with Corynebacterium renale. The indirect fluorescent antibody assay was used to detect IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE, and C3 on C renale present in the urine of the experimental animals. Corynebacterium renale coated with IgM and IgG antibodies was found beginning on the 4th day after induced infection, with IgG being the more abundant isotype. Coating with IgA occurred as early as the 4th day, but was less dense than coating with IgG. The presence of C3 on C renale was concurrent with IgM and IgG coating. A significant quantity of IgE could not be identified on antibody-coated C renale. Thus, IgG is the major component of the humoral immune response in this model of ascending pyelonephritis. The IgM early during infection and IgA later during infection seem not to be a major component of the immune response in this model.