Paenibacillus stellifer: a new cause of human infections

Abstract

Introduction: Paenibacillus stellifer is widely distributed in nature, but its pathogenicity has not been reported since it was first identified in 2003. Objectives: This work aimed to identify Gram-variable rods isolated from cases of health care-associated infections in a hospital in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between September/2015 and August/2016, and analyze their sensitivity to antibiotics commonly used in clinical practice. Methods: Initially, microorganisms were identified with conventional methods and confirmed by the Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization — Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) technique. The sensitivity to antimicrobials test was performed according to recommendations from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results: We analyzed 105 samples: 59 surgical wound secretions and 46 blood cultures. Gram-variable rods were identified in two surgical wound secretion samples (3.39%) and two blood cultures (4.35%). Paenibacillus stellifer was the microorganism isolated from the four samples, showing sensitivity to all tested drugs. Conclusion: P. stellifer is a microorganism that is not in the make-up of human microbiota and has an environmental origin. According to current knowledge, this is the first identification of P. stellifer as the etiological agent of surgical wound infections in the world, and bacteremia in Brazil. Lastly, we highlight that microorganisms normally found in the environment are able to cause infections in a hospital.