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Answer to Photo Quiz: Dermatophilus congolensis (See page 2409 in this issue [doi:10.1128/JCM.02826-14] for photo quiz case presentation.) Chuan Kok Lim,a,b Judith Holds,a Manuel Pastor Forero Morales,a Ivan Bastiana,b SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australiaa; University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australiab
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his patient had pitted keratosis due to Dermatophilus congolensis, a Gram-positive bacillus first described in 1915 as a cause of contagious dermatitis in cattle in the Belgian Congo (1). This organism is associated with a range of skin diseases in cattle, sheep, deer, horses, and occasionally humans (2). Organisms resembling Dermatophilus congolensis have also been isolated in an elephant with streptotrichosis in Cambodia (3). Humans acquire infection through traumatic inoculations following contact with infected animals, although insect bites have also been proposed. Human skin infections are often mild and self-limiting, although recurrent infections can occur. These skin infections can present as pitted keratolysis, folliculitis, pustular eruptions, distal onycholysis, or subcutaneous nodules. More severe infection with necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenopathy has also been described to occur in an immunosuppressed child (4). Both human and animal cases have been described to occur in different continents, predominantly the tropical regions (5). In this case, the presence of motile zoospores, agar pitting, beta-hemolysis, and better growth at 5% CO2 than under aerobic atmospheric conditions helped distinguish Dermatophilus congolensis from other aerobic actinomycetes, like Nocardia or Streptomyces. Motile zoospores are released from developed sporangia under optimal growth conditions (6). This can be induced in the laboratory by incubation in liquid medium for 3 to 5 days. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed a 99.4% match (514/517 bp) with Dermatophilus congolensis strain NBRC 105199. The isolate has now been added to our laboratory’s local MALDI Biotyper database, allowing rapid identification with a high confidence score using direct plating with formic acid. There are currently no published clinical breakpoints for Dermatophilus congolensis. Disk susceptibility testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton sheep blood agar, which showed large zones for ampicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, cefoxitin, trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole, and vancomycin. In this case, no antibiotic was given to the patient. The lesions healed spontaneously after a month. Treatment with antimicro-
October 2016 Volume 54 Number 10
bial agents is controversial, as spontaneous recovery is often achieved by keeping the infected area dry. Dermatophilus congolensis infects the stratum corneum of the skin, which is avascular and out of reach of topical and systemic antimicrobials. In reported human cases, intramuscular streptomycin, oral ampicillin, norfloxacin, and topical neomycin have been used with minimal success (7). REFERENCES 1. Van Saceghem R. 1915. Dermatose contagieuse (impetigo contagieuse). Bull Soc Pathol Exot 8:354. 2. Amor A, Enriquez A, Corcuera MT, Toro C, Herrero D, Baquero M. 2011. Is infection by Dermatophilus congolensis underdiagnosed? J Clin Microbiol 49:449 – 451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01117-10. 3. Martelli P. 2008. Veterinary problems of geographical concern. Section 3: Indochina and Bangladesh, p 450. In Fowler ME, Mikota SK (ed), Biology, medicine, and surgery of elephants. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ. 4. Albrecht R, Horowitz S, Gilbert E, Hong R, Richard J, Connor DH. 1974. Dermatophilus congolensis chronic nodular disease in man. Pediatrics 53: 907–912. 5. Towersey L, de Castro Soares Martins E, Londero AT, Hay RJ, Soares Filho PJ, Takiya CM, Martins CC, Gompertz OF. 1993. Dermatophilus congolensis human infection. J Am Acad Dermatol 29:351–354. http://dx .doi.org/10.1016/0190-9622(93)70194-X. 6. Burd EM, Juzych LA, Rudrik JT, Habib F. 2007. Pustular dermatitis caused by Dermatophilus congolensis. J Clin Microbiol 45:1655–1658. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00327-07. 7. Dickson C, de Elias-Costa MRI. 2010. Human and animal dermatophilosis. An unusual case report and review of the literature. Dermatol Argent 16:349 –353.
Citation Lim CK, Holds J, Forero Morales MP, Bastian I. 2016. Answer to photo quiz: Dermatophilus congolensis. J Clin Microbiol 54:2629. doi:10.1128/JCM.02956-14. Editor: P. Bourbeau Address correspondence to Chuan Kok Lim, [email protected]. © Crown copyright 2016.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology
jcm.asm.org
2629
Answer to Photo Quiz: Dermatophilus congolensis (See page 2409 in this issue [doi:10.1128/JCM.02826-14] for photo quiz case presentation.) Chuan Kok Lim,a,b Judith Holds,a Manuel Pastor Forero Morales,a Ivan Bastiana,b SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australiaa; University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australiab
T
his patient had pitted keratosis due to Dermatophilus congolensis, a Gram-positive bacillus first described in 1915 as a cause of contagious dermatitis in cattle in the Belgian Congo (1). This organism is associated with a range of skin diseases in cattle, sheep, deer, horses, and occasionally humans (2). Organisms resembling Dermatophilus congolensis have also been isolated in an elephant with streptotrichosis in Cambodia (3). Humans acquire infection through traumatic inoculations following contact with infected animals, although insect bites have also been proposed. Human skin infections are often mild and self-limiting, although recurrent infections can occur. These skin infections can present as pitted keratolysis, folliculitis, pustular eruptions, distal onycholysis, or subcutaneous nodules. More severe infection with necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenopathy has also been described to occur in an immunosuppressed child (4). Both human and animal cases have been described to occur in different continents, predominantly the tropical regions (5). In this case, the presence of motile zoospores, agar pitting, beta-hemolysis, and better growth at 5% CO2 than under aerobic atmospheric conditions helped distinguish Dermatophilus congolensis from other aerobic actinomycetes, like Nocardia or Streptomyces. Motile zoospores are released from developed sporangia under optimal growth conditions (6). This can be induced in the laboratory by incubation in liquid medium for 3 to 5 days. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed a 99.4% match (514/517 bp) with Dermatophilus congolensis strain NBRC 105199. The isolate has now been added to our laboratory’s local MALDI Biotyper database, allowing rapid identification with a high confidence score using direct plating with formic acid. There are currently no published clinical breakpoints for Dermatophilus congolensis. Disk susceptibility testing was performed on Mueller-Hinton sheep blood agar, which showed large zones for ampicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, cefoxitin, trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole, and vancomycin. In this case, no antibiotic was given to the patient. The lesions healed spontaneously after a month. Treatment with antimicro-
October 2016 Volume 54 Number 10
bial agents is controversial, as spontaneous recovery is often achieved by keeping the infected area dry. Dermatophilus congolensis infects the stratum corneum of the skin, which is avascular and out of reach of topical and systemic antimicrobials. In reported human cases, intramuscular streptomycin, oral ampicillin, norfloxacin, and topical neomycin have been used with minimal success (7). REFERENCES 1. Van Saceghem R. 1915. Dermatose contagieuse (impetigo contagieuse). Bull Soc Pathol Exot 8:354. 2. Amor A, Enriquez A, Corcuera MT, Toro C, Herrero D, Baquero M. 2011. Is infection by Dermatophilus congolensis underdiagnosed? J Clin Microbiol 49:449 – 451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01117-10. 3. Martelli P. 2008. Veterinary problems of geographical concern. Section 3: Indochina and Bangladesh, p 450. In Fowler ME, Mikota SK (ed), Biology, medicine, and surgery of elephants. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ. 4. Albrecht R, Horowitz S, Gilbert E, Hong R, Richard J, Connor DH. 1974. Dermatophilus congolensis chronic nodular disease in man. Pediatrics 53: 907–912. 5. Towersey L, de Castro Soares Martins E, Londero AT, Hay RJ, Soares Filho PJ, Takiya CM, Martins CC, Gompertz OF. 1993. Dermatophilus congolensis human infection. J Am Acad Dermatol 29:351–354. http://dx .doi.org/10.1016/0190-9622(93)70194-X. 6. Burd EM, Juzych LA, Rudrik JT, Habib F. 2007. Pustular dermatitis caused by Dermatophilus congolensis. J Clin Microbiol 45:1655–1658. http: //dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00327-07. 7. Dickson C, de Elias-Costa MRI. 2010. Human and animal dermatophilosis. An unusual case report and review of the literature. Dermatol Argent 16:349 –353.
Citation Lim CK, Holds J, Forero Morales MP, Bastian I. 2016. Answer to photo quiz: Dermatophilus congolensis. J Clin Microbiol 54:2629. doi:10.1128/JCM.02956-14. Editor: P. Bourbeau Address correspondence to Chuan Kok Lim, [email protected]. © Crown copyright 2016.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology
jcm.asm.org
2629
