Vibrio metschnikovii, a rare cause of wound infection

J Clin Microbiol. 2004 Oct;42(10):4909-11. doi: 10.1128/JCM.42.10.4909-4911.2004.

Abstract

We report the first case of a postoperative wound infection caused by Vibrio metschnikovii on the lower right leg of a patient after saphenectomy. Compared to the healing of an uninfected site, that of the right leg was delayed, and a cure was achieved by intensified wound care. Several swabs taken from the infected site grew a gram-negative rod in pure culture that was identified as V. metschnikovii by the VITEK 2 system. The source of the infection was not detected; however, the absence of putative risk factors (exposure to water or shellfish or an episode of diarrhea), the profession of the patient (butcher), and the isolation of V. metschnikovii in a variety of farm animals (chicken, cattle, swine, and horses) suggest that infections caused by V. metschnikovii may be regarded as zoonotic.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Surgical Wound Infection / microbiology*
  • Vero Cells
  • Vibrio / classification*
  • Vibrio / isolation & purification*
  • Vibrio / pathogenicity
  • Vibrio Infections / microbiology*