A rare case of Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens infection in the eye: a case report

• Published in: Tropical Medicine and Health
• Main Author: Pauline Mallick
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2022
• Subjects: Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens; Infective keratitis; Eye; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00452-1; https://doaj.org/article/9f77db17e7914f9e8cb90bdddc9361df

Abstract Purpose To report a rare case of microbial keratitis caused by Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens (C. flaccumfaciens) infection. Methods and results A 24-year-old male presented with pain and redness of the eye following ocular exposure to banana bell sap. He was diagnosed with infectious keratitis and underwent corneal scraping. Subsequent culture and molecular analysis identified the causative organism as C. flaccumfaciens. Keratitis clinically resolved following several weeks of topical therapy with ciprofloxacin 0.3%. Conclusion Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens is a rare and likely underdiagnosed cause of bacterial keratitis. This report provides further evidence of its pathogenic role in not only plants, but also the human cornea, especially in the tropics.