First detection of Corynebacterium ulcerans producing a diphtheria-like toxin in a case of human with pulmonary infection in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, Brazil

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2008 Jun;103(4):396-400. doi: 10.1590/s0074-02762008000400014.

Abstract

The frequency and severity of human infections associated with Corynebacterium ulcerans appear to be increasing in different countries. Here, we describe the first C. ulcerans strain producing a diphtheria-like toxin isolated from an elderly woman with a fatal pulmonary infection and a history of leg skin ulcers in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Bronchopneumonia / diagnosis
  • Bronchopneumonia / microbiology*
  • Corynebacterium / isolation & purification
  • Corynebacterium / metabolism*
  • Corynebacterium Infections / diagnosis
  • Corynebacterium Infections / epidemiology
  • Corynebacterium Infections / microbiology*
  • Diphtheria Toxoid / biosynthesis*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leg Ulcer / diagnosis
  • Leg Ulcer / microbiology*

Substances

  • Diphtheria Toxoid