Sepsis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sepsis, including details on septicemia, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment.

Life-threatening invasive Helcococcus kunzii infections in intravenous-drug users and ermA-mediated erythromycin resistance.

Woo PC, Tse H, Wong SS, Tse CW, Fung AM, Tam DM, Lau SK, Yuen KY

Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, University Pathology Building, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. hkumicro@hkucc.hku.hk

We report the first two cases of life-threatening invasive Helcococcus kunzii infection, with primary bacteremia and empyema thoracis, respectively. Gram smears of both H. kunzii isolates showed a mixture of gram-positive and gram-negative cocci. The isolate from the first patient, resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, possessed an ermA gene.

Published 7 December 2005 in J Clin Microbiol, 43(12): 6205-8.
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