Campylobacter fetus subsp.fetus sepsis: A Case Report and Review of the Literatures in Japan

Abstract

We report a 32-year-old female with eating disorder whose body weight was only 20 kg. She was admitted to the hospital with severe low nutrition, low proteinemia, liver dysfunction, hypokalemia and hypoglycemia. On the third hospital day, she had a high fever and Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus (C. fetus) was isolated from the blood. After treatment with meropenem (1 g/day) intravenous drip injection, her condition improved. C. fetus sepsis is not common disease in Japan. A review of 37 cases of this disease in Japan revealed that the age range of adult patients was 20 to 60 years old. The male-to-female ratio was 4.6 to 1.0. Seventy-eight percent of the patients had underlying diseases which were composed of 11 patients with liver disease, 6 patients with blood dyscrasia and some with diabetes mellitus, heart disease, other malignant tumor and collagen disease. There was no case with eating disorder. All apparent sources of infection in Japan originate from eating raw food. Gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in only 16% of the patients. Recent recommendations for the treatment of C. fetus sepsis are to use gentamicin, imipenem and meropenem. Some strains of C. fetus have resistance to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin. The mortality of this infection is 14% in Japan.

Clinical and epidemiological analysis of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus infections in humans and comparative genetic analysis with strains isolated from cattle

“…Our demographic data regarding age at infection (65 % ≥60 years) and source of isolation (blood in 65 %) are in concordance with data from a large survey in Canada reporting age ≥70 years in 53 % and blood as site of infection in 69 % of the cases [ 13 ], from France (mean age 69.5 years) [ 9 ], or Taiwan (mean age 60.5 years) [ 11 ]. It has been suggested that CFF is the most common species causing bloodstream infection among Campylobacter species (53 %) [ 3 ], and that, as in the present study, patients with CFF infection are more often male [ 3 , 6 – 12 ]. Additionally, our data show a larger number of comorbidities and no clear association with liver disease or cirrhosis (only 2 patients with alcohol abuse) [ 6 – 12 ].…”

“…It has been suggested that CFF is the most common species causing bloodstream infection among Campylobacter species (53 %) [ 3 ], and that, as in the present study, patients with CFF infection are more often male [ 3 , 6 – 12 ]. Additionally, our data show a larger number of comorbidities and no clear association with liver disease or cirrhosis (only 2 patients with alcohol abuse) [ 6 – 12 ]. Our results confirm the frequent finding of soft tissue infection or thrombosis/thrombophlebitis [ 6 , 9 , 10 ], but, in contrast to one study, colitis was frequent as well [ 10 ].…”