Author: Brian Holtry

Brucellosis (also called undulant fever, Mediterranean fever, Malta fever) is an infection that causes abortion in domestic animals. It is caused by one of six species of Brucella coccobacilli. It may occasionally be transmitted to humans, in whom the disease could be acute or chronic with ongoing fever and constitutional symptoms without localized findings.

Pasteurella multocida has been recovered from cultures of specimens from the nasopharynx and the gastrointestinal tract of a large number of asymptomatic wild and domestic animals. The highest carriage rates occur in cats (50%-90%), dogs or swine (50%), and rats (15%). Infections are usually preceded by a cat or dog bite or scratch on an extremity.

Conditions that are associated with increased risk for Yersinia spp. infections (yersiniosis) include iron overload states (such as in patients who receive chronic blood transfusions or those with hemochromatosis) and the use of desferrioxamine, a bacterial siderophore. Infections caused by Y enterocolitica are more common in children than adults.

The genus Yersinia, named after Alexander Yersin (1863-1943), includes Y pestis, Y enterocolitica, and Y pseudotuberculosis. Y pestis is the cause of plague, a disease that has left its mark on human history since the medieval time. Y enterocolitica and Y pseudotuberculosis also cause mesenteric lymphadenitis. Plague occurs worldwide.

Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia (also called rabbit fever or deerfly fever), an infectious disease that occurs primarily in animals. It may occasionally cause human disease, which most often manifests itself by one or more skin lesions, regional lymphadenopathy, fever, and constitutional symptoms.

Anaerobic bacteria are the predominant component of the normal microbial flora of the human body. The following sites harbor the vast majority of them:

Tetanus is a disease of global incidence produced by the toxin of Clostridium tetani. The risk of acquiring it increases in people > 60 years of age and in neonates, especially in Third World countries where poor sanitary conditions predispose to umbilical stump contamination. Immunization campaigns have played a crucial role in bringing about the observed decreasing incidence in the United States. The pathogenesis of tetanus involves the absorption of preformed toxin, or, less commonly, invasion of toxin-producing organisms from contaminated wounds; it may complicate surgical wounds colonized with C tetani.

Box 1 summarizes different clinical syndromes associated with anaerobic bacteria. The sections that follow describe the various syndromes, including clinical findings. For some syndromes, specific diagnosis and treatment information is included as well.

More than 25 species and 48 serogroups of Legionella have been identified. Legionella pneumophila (especially serogroup 1) causes ~ 70-80% of cases of legionellosis, but L micdadei, L bozemanii, L dumoffi, L feelei, L longbeacheii, and other species are also pathogenic. The true incidence of legionellosis, which includes Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, is difficult to establish.

Legionella species are associated with outbreaks of either Pontiac fever, a self-limited influenzalike condition in otherwise healthy people, or Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonic disease more common among elderly and immunocompromised individuals.