A number of pleomorphic, non-sporulating, and gram-positive bacilli have been identified in the past as “diphtheroids” or “coryneform” bacteria and dismissed as contaminants. However, many of these organisms can cause endocarditis and other serious infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. For…
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Bacillus species, ubiquitous in the environment, are found in soil, water, dust, and air. With the exception of B. anthracis, which causes anthrax, Bacillus spp. previously have been considered nonpathogenic when isolated from clinical specimens. However, nonanthrax species are increasingly…
Arcanobacterium haemolyticum was first identified as Corynebacterium haemolyticum in 1946 in pharyngeal cultures of World War II soldiers and Pacific Islanders with pharyngitis that was indistinguishable clinically from infection caused by group A Streptococcus . Epidemiology Humans are the primary…