ABSTRACT
For the first time, we report Klebsiella pneumoniae as an enteroinvasive food-borne pathogen transmitted from a hamburger. A 28-year-old previously healthy African-American male ingested a portion of a hamburger from a fast food chain. Symptoms of gastroenteritis rapidly deteriorated to multiorgan failure. Blood and hamburger cultures grew Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Since Klebsiella had not previously been reported as enteroinvasive, the isolates were compared. Full biochemical profiles, antimicrobial sensitivity, plasmid profile, and toxin assay by DNA hybridization probe were completely concordant. The patient survived the episode of food-borne sepsis. Deliberate or inadvertent employee contamination of food products with feces may be a potential source of life-threatening food-borne illness.
Subject(s)
Escherichia coli Infections/etiology , Foodborne Diseases/microbiology , Klebsiella Infections/etiology , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Meat/poisoning , Sepsis/etiology , Adult , Blood/microbiology , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Gastroenteritis/etiology , Humans , Klebsiella pneumoniae/isolation & purification , Male , Meat/microbiology , Multiple Organ Failure/etiologyABSTRACT
Trichophyton verrucosum infection, which is acquired from the hide of dairy cattle, is the cause of tinea barbae, a severe pustular eruption on the face and neck. We present the cases of five patients, three of whom had severe pustular tinea barbae and two of whom had eruptions of the forearms. All five patients were dairy farmers. On physical examination, all five patients were afebrile and did not appear toxic. Peripheral leukocyte counts of the three patients with pustular tinea barbae were normal. Gram stain and bacterial cultures of the draining pustules were negative in all three cases. Potassium hydroxide preparation showed hyphae, and cultures yielded T. verrucosum in all three cases. Four patients received therapy with fluconazole, and one received therapy with griseofulvin; in all cases, the lesions healed. T. verrucosum can cause pustular tinea barbae in farmers that may be mistaken for a Staphylococcus aureus infection by clinicians, including infectious disease experts. The answer to a simple question, "Are you a dairy farmer?", may suggest the diagnosis of T. verrucosum in the proper clinical setting.
