HUMAN LYMPHADENITIS DUE TO CORYNEBACTERIUM-PSEUDOTUBERCULOSIS - REPORT OF 10 CASES FROM AUSTRALIA AND REVIEW

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis commonly causes caseous lymphadenit is in Australian sheep, We describe 10 cases of human lymphadenitis du e to C. pseudotuberculosis; in all cases, isolates were submitted to a reference laboratory in Victoria, Australia. Most of the patients wer e occupationally exposed to sheep. We also review the 12 previously pu blished cases of this infection, most of which were reported from Aust ralia. No patient had any underlying disease or predisposing condition , Surgical excision of the affected lymph glands is the mainstay of ma nagement, and antibiotic therapy is supplementary treatment. Diagnosis was delayed for some patients, and some patients had a protracted or recurrent clinical course and/or a slow recovery. These 10 additional cases from one Australian state indicate that human lymphadenitis caus ed, by C. pseudotuberculosis has not been as rare as the number of pub lished reports indicates, at least in Australia. However, the increasi ng use of a vaccine against caseous lymphadenitis in sheep in Australi a should result in the decreasing human incidence of this zoonosis.