The gram-positive bacterium Gemella morbillorum has been recovered from patients with endocarditis but has rarely been associated with acute fulminant infections. We describe two children with a rapid onset of septic shock, which was fatal in one, following infection with this organism. G. morbillorum is a commensal organism of the upper respiratory tract; it gained access to the bloodstreams in these patients, and bacteremia occurred. A clinical drawback is that the initial colonial morphology of this organism leads to presumptive identification as a viridans streptococcus, an organism not commonly associated with septic shock syndrome. Resistance of G. morbillorum to penicillin appears to be common; therefore, initial empirical combination therapy (a β-lactam agent and an aminoglycoside) or vancomycin treatment should be considered.
Clinical Infectious Diseases publishes clinically relevant articles on the pathogenesis, clinical investigation, medical microbiology, diagnosis, immune mechanisms, and treatment of diseases caused by infectious agents. Special sections include articles on antimicrobial resistance, bioterrorism, emerging infections, food safety, hospital epidemiology, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, the journal features highly focused brief reports, review articles, editorials, commentaries, and supplements. Published for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
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Clinical Infectious Diseases
© 1996 Oxford University Press
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