Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
The first case of septicemia due to nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in Poland: case report
Aleksandra Anna Zasada1, Maria Zaleska, Regina Beata Podlasin
1Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Hygiene, 24 Chocimska St., 00-791 Warsaw, Poland. azasada@pzh.gov.pl
Background:
Toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae are well known agent of diphtheria. Nontoxigenic strains can cause atypical course of the disease. Invasive diseases caused by C. diphtheriae occur very rare.
Case Presentation:
We have described the first case of septicemia and endocarditis due to nontoxigenic C. diphtheriae biotype gravis in Poland. The patient has not belonged to any group of risk such infection.
Conclusion:
The case presented in this article shows unusual case of infection connected with nontoxigenic C. diphtheriae that took place in the area where have been no cases of diphtheria and other C. diphtheriae infections for near ten years. It shows the importance of identifying Corynebacterium isolates at the species level especially when the strain has been isolated from normally sterile sites.
Related Concept Videos
Streptococcal Pharyngitis
Diphtheria
Atypical Pneumonia
Poliomyelitis
Bacterial Meningitis I: Introduction
Bacterial Meningitis II: Pathophysiology

