Isolation of two rare Shewanella spp. from specimens of patients in Liaocheng in 2016

ObjectiveTo identify the isolates of Shewanella spp. from two patient specimens in Liaocheng and explore the biochemical characteristics and drug susceptibility of the Shewanella spp.

MethodsTwo specimens from the two patients and other 6 Shewanella spp. strains revived were cultured by using selective medium, and biochemical test, hemolytic test, salt-resistant and heat-resistant tests, drug-resistance test were conducted for the strains. API and VITEK 2 Compact, VITEK MS systems were used for the identification of the strains, 16S rRNA and gyrB sequence analyses were conducted.

ResultsThe morphology and biochemical characteristics of 8 strains were consistent, the hemolytic state was different. The clinical identification system could only identified Shewanella algae and Shewanella putrefaciens. Two strains isolated from the patients were further identified as rare Shewanella haliotis and Shewanella upenei through 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequence analyses.

ConclusionIt was the first time to isolate rare Shewanella spp. from clinical cases in China. Further attention needs to be paid to clinical infection caused by Shewanella and the surveillance should be strengthened.