Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae bacteremia treated with linezolid

Abstract

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a common zoonotic pathogen that rarely causes diseases in humans. It has three main disease manifestations: localized cutaneous, disseminated cutaneous, and a systemic form of infections, typically characterized as bacteremia with or without endocarditis. Human infections are often associated with occupational exposure to animals, animal products, or their excreta. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman found to have E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia associated with a leg laceration sustained after she fell into a sewer drain. Germane animal exposures were not identified; thus, the source of bacterium was attributed to sewage or sewage-contaminated water. She was initially treated with intravenous penicillin with clinical improvement. However, given the patient’s social factors, prolonged oral antimicrobial therapy was considered. E. rhusiopathiae is routinely susceptible to penicillin, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones but resistant to vancomycin. The data on alternatives to beta-lactam therapy are limited. We report a case of E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia successfully treated with oral linezolid.