School of Laboratory Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
Department of Medical Laboratory, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Oct 24;24(1):1200. doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-10084-x.
Micrococcus antarcticus (M. antarcticus) is an aerobic Gram-positive spherical actinobacterium that was initially isolated from Chinese Great-Wall station in Antarctica in 2000. M. antarcticus was considered to be of low pathogenicity, no previous cases of human infection by this organism have been reported. Here we describe the first report with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by M. antarcticus.
An 87-year-old female was presented to the Central Hospital of Wuhan in November 2023 with a chief complaint of cough, sputum production, and chest tightness for 2 weeks. Microbial culture of the patient's bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and identification of the isolates using Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed M. antarcticus infection. Combined with clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging examination, the patient was diagnosed with CAP. Then cefoperazone/sulbactam and levofloxacin was administrated, the patient's condition was improved and she was discharged after a week after admission, no abnormalities were detected during a 5-month follow-up.
This case highlights that M. antarcticus, first identified from a patient with CAP, is an extremely rare pathogenic microorganism. Clinicians should be aware of its potential as a pathogen in the diagnosis and treatment of CAP.
南极微球菌（M. antarcticus）是一种需氧革兰阳性球形放线菌，最初于 2000 年从中国南极长城站分离得到。M. antarcticus 被认为致病性较低，此前没有报道过该生物体引起人类感染的病例。在这里，我们报告首例由南极微球菌引起的社区获得性肺炎（CAP）。
一名 87 岁女性因咳嗽、咳痰和胸闷 2 周于 2023 年 11 月就诊于武汉市中心医院。患者支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）的微生物培养以及使用基质辅助激光解吸电离/飞行时间质谱（MALDI-TOF MS）和 16S rRNA 基因测序对分离株的鉴定显示为南极微球菌感染。结合临床症状、实验室和影像学检查，诊断为 CAP。然后给予头孢哌酮/舒巴坦和左氧氟沙星治疗，患者病情改善，入院一周后出院，随访 5 个月无异常。
本病例强调了从 CAP 患者中首次鉴定出的南极微球菌是一种极其罕见的致病微生物。临床医生应意识到其在 CAP 的诊断和治疗中作为病原体的潜在可能性。
