Pig bite injuries and infection: report of seven human cases

Six patients developed local infection after being bitten or gored by swine. Wounding was often deep and occurred characteristically on the posterior aspect of the thigh. Severity of infection varied from simple wound infection with discharge and slough to cellulitis and abscess formation; pathogens included haemolytic streptococci, pasteurellae, Bacteroides sp., Proteus sp. and Escherichia coli and were usually isolated in mixed culture. A patient with Pasteurella aerogenes infection appears to be the first reported in England. A seventh patient developed Streptococcus milleri septicaemia after wounding himself while cutting teeth from piglets. It is suggested that a course of broad-spectrum antibiotics should be given as part of the initial treatment when patients present with the more severe pig bite injuries.