Lymphocutaneous spread of Mycobacterium elephantis in an immunocompetent individual: A case report
Brett D Edwards1,2, Ranjani Somayaji1,3,4, Dina Fisher4,5
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Abstract:
Mycobacterium elephantis was first described when isolated from an elephant that succumbed to lung abscess. However, despite this namesake, it is not associated with animals and has been described most often as a probable colonizer rather than pathogen in humans with chronic lung disease. In this report, we describe the first case of lymphocutaneous infection from M. elephantis, likely as a result of cutaneous inoculation with contaminated soil. This offers further evidence to its capabilities as a pathogen. We provide a review of the limited prior reports of M. elephantis and outline the available in vitro data on efficacy of various antimycobacterial agents.
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