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Volume 29, Number 8—August 2023
Dispatch

Emerging Corynebacterium diphtheriae Species Complex Infections, Réunion Island, France, 2015–2020

Thomas Garrigos1Comments to Author , Anais Grimal1, Edgar Badell, Nicolas Traversier, Sandrine Picot, Anne Lignereux, Mahery Ramiandrisoa, Céline Ben Cimon, Marie-Christine Jaffar-Bandjee, Houssein Gbaguidi-Haore, Julie Toubiana, Sylvain Brisse, Guillaume Miltgen2, and Olivier Belmonte2
Author affiliations: Félix Guyon University Hospital Center, Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, France (T. Garrigos, A. Grimal, N. Traversier, M.-C. Jaffar-Bandjee, G. Miltgen, O. Belmonte); Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical, University of La Réunion, Inserm, CNRS, IRD, Saint-Denis, Réunion Island, France (T. Garrigos, G. Miltgen); Institut Pasteur University of Paris Cité, Paris, France (E. Badell, J. Toubiana, S. Brisse); Institut Pasteur National Reference Center for Corynebacteria of the Diphtheriae Complex, Paris (E. Badell, J. Toubiana, S. Brisse); University Hospital of La Réunion, Saint Pierre, Réunion Island, France (S. Picot); Hospital Center West Réunion, Saint Paul, Réunion Island, France (A. Lignereux); Cerballiance Laboratory, Le Port, Réunion Island, France (M. Ramiandrisoa); Inovie RéuniLAB Laboratory, Sainte-Clotilde (C. Ben Cimon); University Hospital Center and University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France (H. Gbaguidi-Haore); Necker-Enfants malades Hospital, Paris (J. Toubiana).

Main Article

Table 2

Characteristics of isolates from 26 patients in study of emerging Corynebacterium diphtheriae species complex infections, Réunion Island, France, 2015–2020*

Patient no. Isolate Year Isolation site Species Biovar tox gene Elek test ST† Co-infections‡
1
 CD1/FRC0304 2015 Cutaneous C. diphtheriae Gravis Negative NA 102 S. pyogenes, S. aureus, A. haemolyticum
CD2/FRC0316
 2015
 Respiratory
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 95
 S. aureus
2
 CD3/FRC0314
 2015
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Positive
 Positive
 421
 S. aureus
3
 CD4/FRC0376
 2015
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Positive
 Positive
 388
 S. pyogenes
4
 CD5/FRC0383 2016 Cutaneous C. diphtheriae Mitis Negative NA 423 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
CD6/FRC0393
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 423
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
5
 CD7/FRC0385
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Positive
 Positive
 91
 S. pyogenes
6
 CU1/FRC0391
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. ulcerans
 NA
 Negative
 NA
 339
 S. dysgalactiae
7
 CD8/FRC0402
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 410
 S. dysgalactiae
8
 CD9/FRC0410
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 415
 S. pyogenes
9
 CD10/FRC0423
 2016
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Negative
 NA
 101
 S. aureus
10
 CD11/FRC0477
 2017
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Negative
 NA
 481
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus, A. haemolyticum
11
 CD12/FRC0501
 2017
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Positive
 Positive
 521
 S. pyogenes
12
 CD13/FRC0624
 2018
 Bone
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 237
 S. aureus
13
 CD14/FRC0630
 2018
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Negative
 NA
 606
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
14
 CD15/FRC0733
 2019
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 351
 S. pyogenes
15
 CD16/FRC0782 2019 Cutaneous C. diphtheriae Mitis Positive Positive 688 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
CD17/FRC0809
 2019
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Positive
 Positive
 688
 S. aureus
16
 CD18/FRC0819
 2019
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Gravis
 Positive
 Positive
 87
 S. pyogenes, A. haemolyticum
17
 CU2/FRC0820
 2019
 Bone
 C. ulcerans
 NA
 Negative
 NA
 339
 S. aureus
18
 CD19/FRC0849
 2019
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Positive
 Positive
 426
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
19
 CD20/FRC0865
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 102
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus
20
 CD21/FRC0875
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 707
 S. pyogenes
21
 CD22/FRC0893
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 708
 S. pyogenes
22
 CD23/FRC0928
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 88
 S. pyogenes
23
 CD24/FRC0970
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 88
 S. pyogenes, S. aureus, A. haemolyticum
24
 CD25/FRC0975
 2020
 Cutaneous
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 88
 S. aureus
25
 CD26/FRC1050
 2020
 Bone
 C. diphtheriae
 Mitis
 Negative
 NA
 771
 A. haemolyticum
26 CD27/FRC1065 2020 Bone C. diphtheriae Mitis Negative NA 88 S. aureus

*CD, Corynebacterium diphtheriae; CU, C. ulcerans; NA, not applicable; ST, sequence type. †Numbers in bold indicate a common ST shared among strains from different patients. ‡Co-infections with Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, or Streptococcus pyogenes.

Main Article

1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

2These authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: May 31, 2023
Page updated: July 25, 2023
Page reviewed: July 25, 2023
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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