Cellulitis and bacteremia caused by Bergeyella zoohelcum

Bergeyella zoohelcum is a rod-shaped, aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile and non-saccharolytic bacterium. It is frequently isolated from the upper respiratory tract of dogs, cats and other mammals. Clinically, B. zoohelcum has been known to cause cellulitis, leg abscess, tenosynovitis, septicemia, pneumonia and meningitis, and is associated with animal bites. In addition, food-borne transmission was considered in a recent case report. We report a 73-year-old man with liver cirrhosis who had no history of dog bite but had dog exposure, who developed cellulitis of the left lower leg and B. zoohelcum was isolated from blood culture. This patient, without evidence of polymicrobial infection, was treated with cefazolin and gentamicin with a good outcome. B. zoohelcum is a zoonotic pathogen that may cause bacteremia in patients with underlying disease such as liver cirrhosis; it can be treated with a beta-lactam or quinolone.