Citation

Feichtinger S, Lazar AA, Luebbe MA, Accola MA, Jung-Hynes BD, Anderson PJ, Koglin KM, Schliesman KS, Ehlenbach W, Smith J, Chen DJ, Rehrauer WM, Bailey AL. Access Microbiol. 2023; 5(9): 000533.v4.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Microbiology Society)

DOI

10.1099/acmi.0.000533.v4

PMID

37841090

PMCID

PMC10569664

Abstract

A patient suffered a non-fatal wet drowning in a freshwater lake and developed bacteraemia several days later. Blood culture grew a Gram-negative rod that could not be identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing of the isolate identified the microbe as Hydrogenophaga laconesensis - an environmental microbe commonly found in freshwater. The recovery of multiple pathogenic micro-organisms (although not H. laconesensis ) from culture of respiratory specimens prompted the initiation of antibiotic therapy with cefepime and, later, vancomycin. The patient's clinical course gradually improved over the course of 2 weeks and she was ultimately discharged home with minimal sequelae. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of human infection with bacteria in the genus Hydrogenophaga. Hydrogenophaga may be considered in cases of freshwater near-drowning, and MALDI-TOF MS databases should be updated to include H. laconesensis.

Language: en

Keywords

drowning; 16S sequencing; hydrogenophaga; MALDI-TOF