Rare case of bacteremia due to Lysinibacillus sphaericus in a person living with HIV

Abstract

Lysinibacillus sphaericus, as an insect pathogen, is a ubiquitous Gram-positive bacterium present in the environment. It is often considered to be contaminating bacteria. L. sphaericus has been reported to cause infectious diseases in humans relatively rarely. We report a rare case of bacteremia due to L. sphaericus in a person living with HIV, which is also the first reported case of bacteremia caused by L. sphaericus in China. L. sphaericus easily causes infection in immunocompromised individuals. We found that L. sphaericus and Lysinibacillus fusiformis could not be distinguished by their 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence. We performed a genome-wide analysis of the isolated strains of this case and predicted the virulence factors. Finally, L. sphaericus was confirmed. According to antimicrobial susceptibility test, the strain was found to be sensitive to levofloxacin and vancomycin but resistant to penicillin. Greater attention to L. sphaericus infection should be paid and immunocompromised populations should be protected from L. sphaericus infection.

Keywords

• Lysinibacillus sphaericus
• HIV
• Bacteremia
• Genome-wide analysis