Chromobacteriosis (Chromobacterium violaceum) in a calf from Brazil - case report

R.L Soares,N.B Dias Neto,T.B.M Möck,C.R.B Leal,M.A Araújo,C.C Guizelini,C.A.N Ramos

doi:10.1590/1678-4162-11063

Abstract

ABSTRACT Chromobacterium violaceum is a rare opportunistic pathogen that causes highly fatal infections in domestic animals and humans. This report describes a fatal case suggestive of septicemia in a four-day-old female calf with chromobacteriosis. The calf had suppurative omphalophlebitis, suppurative fibrinous polyarthritis, anterior uveitis with bilateral fibrin deposition, fibrinous peritonitis, lymph node abscess and multifocal lymphocytic and neutrophilic encephalitis with multifocal hemorrhages. C. violaceum was isolated from the spleen and peri-renal lymph node and its identity was confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The pathogen was sensitive to azithromycin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, marbofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, sulphazotrim, fluorfenicol, tetracycline and doxycycline as well as resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, cephalothin, cephalexin, oxacillin, B polymyxin, neomycin and bacitracin. This is the first report of chromobacteriosis in a calf from Brazil.

Highlights

Chromobacterium violaceum is a saprophytic Gram-negative bacillus that grows on MacConkey agar and produces a violet pigment called violacein (Richard, 1993)
This report describes a fatal case suggestive of septicemia associated with Chromobacterium violaceum in a calf from the central western region of Brazil
The clinical course and some lesions found, like necrosuppurative omphalophlebitis, indicate that the umbilicus was the likely point of entry in the present report, similar to findings described in a calf with chromobacteriosis reported by Ajithdoss et al (2009)

Summary

Introduction

Chromobacterium violaceum is a saprophytic Gram-negative bacillus that grows on MacConkey agar and produces a violet pigment called violacein (Richard, 1993). C. violaceum infection can cause abscesses in skin and visceral organs, such as the liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen and lymph nodes, and can cause septicemia with necrotizing lesions in multiple organs, resulting in death (Siqueira et al, 2005; Teoh et al, 2006).

Results

Conclusion