A Case of Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens Isolated from Blood Culture

Abstract

Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens is a spiral-shaped, gram-negative anaerobic bacterium. A. succiniciproducens is a rare cause of bacteremia in human, especially immunocompromised patients. This organism may be mistakenly identified when using an automated bacterial identification system, and may be mistaken for Campylobacter spp. when using Gram staining. We report a case of bacteremia caused by A. succiniciproducens, which was negative for catalase, oxidase, and urease and confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing (analysis revealed a 99% similarity), in a 69-year-old patient who was undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of a malignancy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bacteremia caused by A. succiniciproducens in Korea. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2012;15:74-77)