Enterococcus avium—a rare cause for limb loss in a type 2 diabetic patient

Abstract

Enterococcus avium is a Gram-positive facultative anaerobe, found normally in the intestinal tract of human beings, pigs and chickens. E. avium has rarely been reported as a human pathogen. This bacterium has been reported previously along with other aerobes and obligate anaerobes .We report a case of diabetic foot infection with wet gangrene caused by E. avium that had led to morbidity in a 60-year-old woman due to her ignorance regarding health and self-care skills. Pus and exudates of the diabetic foot wound were processed for anaerobic cultivation, and the pure culture obtained was subjected to nested PCR using 16S rDNA universal eubacterial primers for rapid and precise identification. The clinical isolate obtained by anaerobic incubation was identified as E. avium. Aerobic culture detected scanty growth of Proteus mirabilis. This case report highlights the pathogenic potential of E. avium in anaerobiosis in the absence of obligate anaerobe accounting for serious health burden threatening patients’ quality of life.