Photorhabdus asymbiotica, a pathogen emerging on two continents that proves that there is no substitute for a well-trained clinical microbiologist.
A 54-year-old ranch hand presented to the emergency room with an alleged spider bite and multiple abscesses. Both wound and blood cultures grew Photorhabdus asymbiotica, an enteric gram-negative rod that was initially misidentified by the hospital's rapid identification system. Clinical laboratories should be aware of the limitations of their rapid identification systems and always use them as an adjunct to analysis of morphological and phenotypic traits.
Weissfeld
Alice S
AS
Microbiology Specialists Incorporated, 8911 Interchange Drive, Houston, TX 77054. micro@microbiologyspecialists.com.
Halliday
Rhonda J
RJ
Simmons
Dawn E
DE
Trevino
Ernest A
EA
Vance
Paula H
PH
O'Hara
Caroline M
CM
Sowers
Evangeline G
EG
Kern
Rebecca
R
Koy
R Dudley
RD
Hodde
Kathy
K
Bing
M
M
Lo
Carson
C
Gerrard
John
J
Vohra
Renu
R
Harper
Jacqueline
J
D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020637:Photorhabdus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*