Halomonas: An Emerging Pathogen?

John, Joseph F Jr MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA

Associate Chief of Staff for Education, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, co-editor of Infectious Disease Alert.

Dr. John reports no financial relationships with this field of study.

Infectious Disease Alert 32(11):p 128-129, August 2013.

SYNOPSIS:

A 54-year old female with end stage renal disease presented with nausea, vomiting, hypertension and minimal fever. One of two blood cultures grew a gram-negative rod that was eventually identified as Halomonas jonsoniae. None of the local dialysis centers had reported such infections, however, the center under question in Santa Clara, CA reported heavy contamination with H. johnsoniae in 2009.

SOURCE:

Stevens DA, et al. Halomonas jonsoniae: Review of a medically underappreciated genus of growing human importance. Am J Med Sci 2013;345:335-338.