Vibrio Alginolyticus Sepsis in a Pediatric Patient

Apart from the well-known entero-pathogenic species, the Vibrio genus encompasses a hundred of different species of Gram-negative bacteria ubiquitously present in marine environments.Among them, V. alginolyticus is an emerging pathogen to humans, and its rapidly increasing incidence reported in the literature is mainly due to climate change and warming seas.It causes mostly infections of skin and mucosae after exposure to contaminated sea water or raw food.Invasive infections have been reported very rarely, exclusively in immunocompromised or sick adults living closer the oceans.To our knowledge, no pediatric case of invasive infections have been reported in Italian children so far.Hereby we present a 4-year-old Italian male, immunocompetent, affected by post-surgical short bowel syndrome, and carrier of a central line for parenteral support, who developed a V. alginolyticus sepsis after repeated bathing in Liguria see.Luckily the strain showed an extensive susceptibility to antibiotics and the central line could be saved with ethanol lock-therapy.Our experience demonstrates the emergence of new pathogens also in our country.Facing with children, also if immunocompetent, carrier of any kind of devices potentially able to expose body districts usually closed to environmental agents, pediatricians should carefully investigate any possible new environmental source of infection.In this kind of patients, a medical history of recent seabathing should give rise to the suspicion of a brackish water Gram-negative bacteria infection.Luckily V.alginolyticus still maintain a good sensitivity to the antibiotics, but in the current literature have been recently reported cases of multi-drug-resistant strains.