Shewanella alga bacteremia in two patients with lower leg ulcers

The first Danish cases of Shewanella alga bacteremia in two patients with chronic lower leg ulcers are reported. Both patients were admitted to the hospital during the same month of a very warm summer and had been exposed to the same marine environment, thereby suggesting the same source of infection.

Both patients survived; however, one of them had extensive myonecrosis, while the other patient had an uncomplicated course. The strains were initially believed to be Shewanella putrefaciens on the basis of key characteristics and results of the API 20NE identification system (bioMerieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France), but further genetic and physiological analyses identified them as Shewanella alga.