Reviewing the Emergence of Lactococcus garvieae: A Case of Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection Caused by Lactococcus garvieae and Escherichia coli Coinfection

Abstract

Lactococcus garvieae is considered a low virulence organism which is rarely associated with human infections. Most of the reported cases have been associated with bacteremia with or without endocarditis. We report a rare case of catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) caused by Lactococcus garvieae and Escherichia coli coinfection without any bacteremia in a patient with indwelling urinary catheter placed for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The patient also had a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with long standing famotidine treatment. In our case, Lactococcus garvieae was initially misidentified as Enterococcus species but was later detected by automated microbial identification system VITEK-2 (BioMerieux, Marcy-l'Étoile, France) and was confirmed with API 32 Strep system (BioMerieux, Marcy-l'Étoile, France). The patient responded well to a two-week course of cephalosporin. Interestingly, apart from the acid suppressive treatment, no other risk factors were identified.