title: Can anaerobes be acid fast? A novel, clinically relevant acid fast anaerobe.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anaerobic acid fast bacilli (AFB) have not been previously reported in clinical microbiology. This is the second case report of a novel anaerobic AFB causing disease in humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anaerobic AFB was isolated from an abdominal wall abscess in a 64-year-old Caucasian diabetic male, who underwent distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy for resection of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour. The isolated bacteria were gram-variable and acid-fast, consisting of small irregular rods. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate is a novel organism described in the literature only once before. The organism was studied at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) by the same group that worked with the isolates from the previous report; their findings suggest that the strain belongs to the suborder Corynebacterineae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the fifth reported case of an anaerobic AFB involved in clinical disease; its microbiological features and 16S RNA sequence are identical to previously reported cases. Clinical disease with this organism seems to be associated with recent history of surgery and abscess formation in deep soft tissues. Acquisition from surgical material is uncertain but seems unlikely.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Laboratory, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Cleveland, Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Navas
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC, Cleveland, Ohio and Department of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland, Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jump
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC, Cleveland, Ohio and Department of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland, Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Canaday
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Laboratory, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Cleveland, Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Maria D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wnek
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center , Seattle, Washington , USA.
authors.forename: Dhruba J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: SenGupta
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia , USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McQuiston
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia , USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bell
keywords: Lawsonella clevelandensis; abscess; acid fast bacilli; anaerobe; gram variable; hospital acquired infection; novel organism