Brevibacterium casei bacteremia and line sepsis in a patient with AIDS

Abstract

Brevibacteria are obligately aerobic gram-positive bacilli that are associated with milk products and are also found on human skin. Strains of Brevibacterium casei have been found to correspond to Centers for Disease Control coryneform groups B-1 and B-3 and have been isolated from a variety of human clinical specimens. In this report, we describe a case of B. casei bacteremia and sepsis in a patient with AIDS associated with a contaminated Hickmann catheter and review the microbiology and characteristics of these emerging opportunistic pathogens.