Chromobacterium violaceum : A rare bacterium isolated from a wound over the scalp

Abstract

Infection due to Chromobacterium violaceum, a large motile gram-negative bacillus, is a rare entity that typically starts with a localized skin infection or localized lymphadenitis after contact with stagnant water or soil. It can progress to fulminating septicemia, with necrotizing metastatic lesions and multiple abscesses in the liver, lung, spleen, skin, lymph nodes, and brain, and result in fatal multiorgan failure. We report a case of a young male with a history of fall from a bike into stagnant water who subsequently developed C violaceum infection at the site of the sutured scalp wound.