Affiliations: Ahmanson Department of Pediatrics, Steven Spielberg
Pediatric Research Center, Burns and Allen Research Institute, David Geffen
School of Medicine at UCLA, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA,
USA
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Ozlem Equils, MD, Department of Pediatrics,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Room 4220, Los Angeles, CA
90048, USA. Tel.: +1 310 423 4471; Fax: +1 310 423 8284; E-mail:
ozlem.equils@cshs.org
Abstract: Acinetobacter is an uncommon cause of serious infection in healthy
individuals. Here we describe a case of Acinetobacter bacteremia in a
5-year-old kidney transplant patient following a hamster bite. Although most
Acinetobacter infections occur following soil contamination of wounds,
the organism is a natural constituent of oral flora in many animals, and can
thus pose a risk to immunocompromised pet owners. Systemic Acinetobacter
infection should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of
febrile infections in immunocompromised children who are exposed to pets.
Keywords: Acinetobacter, hamster, immune-compromise, kidney transplant, animal bite, infection, pet ownership and child
