Current knowledge on Inquilinus limosus, a scarcely researched human pathogen

Inquilinus limosus belongs to the class of the Alphaproteobacteria and was first described in 2002. So far, the species has mainly been isolated from respiratory specimens of patients with cystic fibrosis. A main characteristic of Inquilinus limosus is the prolonged time until bacterial colony growth is detectable. As the defined incubation times in many laboratories are too short to detect the growth of Inquilinus limosus, it is likely that the species is less frequently detected in the clinical setting than it actually occurs. This also explains why there are currently only very few data on the incidence available. Furthermore, as an uncommon pathogen, Inquilinus limosus may be familiar to only a few specialised clinicians. Due to these reasons, only little research (e.g. case reports and research papers) have been published on this species to date. However, given that a clear human pathogenic significance can be deduced from the existing literature, we have decided to present the current state of knowledge in this review and to address further aspects for the future elucidation of the pathogenesis of Inquilinus limosus.