A large number of gram-negative coccobacilli have been reported to cause infections in humans. This chapter describes three coccobacilli not discussed in other chapters. These organisms are important in specific epidemiologic and clinical settings and present special problems of diagnosis…
Streptobacillus moniliformis, S. hongkongensis, and S. notomytis of the genus Streptobacillus cause infection in humans. They are fastidious, nonmotile, gram-negative, pleomorphic, and often filamentous, beaded, facultative anaerobic bacilli. S. moniliformis can exist in two phases: the bacillary phase and the…
Investigation of an outbreak of pneumonia among attendees at an American Legion Convention in Philadelphia in 1976 revealed a previously unrecognized causative pathogen, Legionella pneumophila. , Infection with Legionella spp. occurs in sporadic and outbreak forms and is one etiology…
Description of Pathogen and Epidemiology Francisella tularensis, the etiologic agent of tularemia, is a small, fastidious, non−spore-forming, strictly aerobic gram-negative coccobacillus, which is nonmotile and nonpiliated and has a thin capsule composed mostly of lipid. Tularemia is a zoonotic disease;…
Capnocytophaga is a genus in the family Flavobacteriaceae encompassing a group of slow-growing, capnophilic (carbon dioxide−loving), facultative anaerobic, gram-negative fusiform bacilli. Species are divided into two groups, the “human” group (formerly classified as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]…