Campylobacter and Endovascular Lesions

Because of the gaps in our knowledge of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of Campylobacter infections, particularly the propensity of Campylobacter fetus ssp fetus to infect vascular endothelium, the authors describe the case of a 56-year-old woman with C. fetus ssp fetus infection of an aortic aneurysm. She recovered after a one-stage surgical repair and antibiotic therapy with erythromycin. The organism was cultured from samples of the stool and tissue obtained at operation. It was identified from its typical characteristics: morphology, microaerophilic, able to grow at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C but not at 42 degrees C, catalase and oxidase positive and resistant to nalidixic acid but susceptible to cephalothin.