Acetobacter tropicalis bacteraemia in an immunocompromised patient: case report

Introduction. The published literature characterizing the bacterial genus Acetobacter primarily explores the role of these organisms in the fermentation industry. Reports of human infections caused by Acetobacter species are rare and are primarily associated with immunocompromised patients. Case Presentation. A young patient with refractory acute myeloid leukaemia received a peripheral blood stem cell transplant at our institution. Both pre- and post-transplant courses were complicated by polymicrobial bloodstream infections. During this time a bacterium, later identified as Acetobacter tropicalis , was isolated from blood cultures. A. tropicalis was recovered in consecutive blood cultures for approximately 1 week; during this time the patient’s condition deteriorated, ending in fatal cardiorespiratory failure. Conclusion. This case provides the first report of a human infection with A. tropicalis , although the significance of this finding in a complex patient is hard to establish. This illustrates how the routine implementation of molecular identification techniques by clinical microbiology laboratories will result in the reporting of more rare or novel micro-organisms involved in human infections.