A 52-year-old man with diabetes developed a unilateral central corneal ulcer after accidental foreign body inoculation. He complained of pain and loss of visual acuity in the injured eye, which displayed redness and edema and eventually discharged pus. A corneal scraping from the left eye orbit revealed fungal elements, and cultures of the material grew a fungus. The isolate was identified as Arthrographis kalrae based on gross and microscopic morphologies. The patient received amphotericin B intravenously and itraconazole orally. The wound healed following surgical intervention, but the patient lost the use of his left eye.
Concurrent infections with more than one etiological agent can result in an illness with overlapping symptoms, resulting in a situation where the diagnosis and management of such a patient could be challenging. We report a case of vivax malaria in a patient who was also serologically positive for leptospirosis and dengue.
Bacillus anthracis is a bacterial pathogen of major concern. The spores of this bacteria can survive harsh environmental conditions for extended periods and are well recognized as a potential bioterror weapon with significant implications. Accurate and timely identification of this Bacillus species in the diagnostic laboratory is essential for disease and public health management. Biosafety Level 3 measures and ciprofloxacin treatment were instituted when B. anthracis was suspected from a patient with gangrenous foot. 16S rDNA sequencing was performed to accurately identify the suspected bacterium, due to the superiority of this method to accurately identify clinically isolated bacteria. B. megaterium was identified as the causative agent and the organism was subsequently treated as a Biosafety Level 2 pathogen.
Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative bacterium, found in tropical and subtropical regions. C. violaceum infection rarely occurs, but once occurs, it is associated with significant mortality due to severe systemic infection. Since the first human case from Malaysia in 1927, >150 cases of C. violaceum infection have been reported worldwide. We have described here a fatal case of C. violaceum infection in a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of C. violaceum infection in Bangladesh.
Cerebritis and infective endocarditis caused by Listeria monocytogenes are very rare. A 56-year-old man presented with slurring of speech and generalized body weakness of 1 week duration. He did not have any past medical history. On systemic examination, he had mild slurring of speech and facial asymmetry and was initially treated for multifocal chronic cerebral infarcts. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from blood culture on day 5 of admission. A diagnosis of neurolisteriosis was made as contrast-enhanced-computed tomography (CECT) of the brain showed right frontal cerebritis. He was treated with intravenous benzyl penicillin. His general condition was improving until day 13 of hospitalization whereby he developed haemoptysis and severe Type 1 respiratory failure requiring reintubation. An urgent transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a large vegetation at the anterior mitral valve leaflet measuring 2.01 cm. No active arterial bleeding was seen on computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the thorax. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed evidence of right frontal cerebritis. He continued to deteriorate and succumbed to his illness after 3 weeks of hospitalization. Clinicians should be aware of such an occurrence and prompt recognition and adequate treatment are necessary in cases of Listeria monocytogenes cerebritis and infective endocarditis as both are deadly entities.