Endocarditis caused by Erysipelothrix insidiosa.

Abstract

This report describes a case of endocarditis caused by Erysipelothrix insidiosa . The patient was a butcher who probably contracted the infection via the cutaneous route. Cure of the erysipelothrix endocarditis was achieved by penicillin therapy, but the patient succumbed later to staphylococcal endocarditis following cardiac surgery. Although rare, the possibility of E. insidiosa infection should be considered when diphtheroid organisms are consistently isolated from a patient’s blood cultures.