Burkholderia ginsengisoli bacteraemia: emergence of a novel pathogen

Burkholderia ginsengisoli is a non-pathogenic Gram-negative bacterium that ordinarily serves as a plant endosymbiont. We report the first case of human infection with B. ginsengisoli presenting as bacteraemia in a young man with severe Crohn's disease. Definitive identification of the pathogen could not be accomplished with conventional techniques and required DNA sequencing. The bacteraemia may have been related to ingestion of organic vegetables and compromised gastrointestinal mucosa, coupled with treatment with tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors. Although there are no standard antibiotics to treat this pathogen, we devised a successful treatment regimen.