Edwardsiella tarda Bacteremia, Okayama, Japan, 2005–2016

Edwardsiella tarda is primarily associated with gastrointestinal disease, but an increasing number of cases involving extraintestinal disease, especially E. tarda bacteremia, have been reported. Using clinical information of E. tarda bacteremia patients identified during January 2005–December 2016 in Japan, we characterized the clinical epidemiology of E. tarda bacteremia. A total of 182,668 sets of blood cultures were obtained during the study period; 40 (0.02%) sets from 26 patients were positive for E. tarda. The most common clinical manifestations were hepatobiliary infection, including cholangitis, liver abscess, and cholecystitis. Overall 30-day mortality for E. tarda bacteremia was 12%, and overall 90-day mortality was 27%. The incidence of E. tarda infection did not vary by season. We more frequently observed hepatobiliary infection in patients with E. tarda bacteremia than in patients with nonbacteremic E. tarda infections. E. tarda bacteremia is a rare entity that is not associated with high rates of death.