Shewanella algae: A Case Report in a Burns Patient from New Delhi and Review of Literature

Shewanella spp. are widely distributed in nature and are considered colonisers thriving on previously damaged tissues. We present a case of 17 year old boy who developed 20% burns due to accidently gripping a high volatge wire. He developed pus in the burns wound within one day of admission to the hospital. Pus from the sample was cultured. Biochemical identification by conventional methods and Vitek-2 systems identified the organism isolated from pus to be Shewanella. Repeat sample revealed same organism. There have been frequent reports of Shewanella spp. causing skin and soft tissue infections; however, it has not been reported in an electrical burn wound infection till date. In this report, it is emphasized that the possibility of it being a pathogen should be considered when isolated from the wound. Microbiologists should be more vigilant in identifying Shewanella spp. from the skin and soft tissue specimens which otherwise may be falsely reported as Pseudomonas in a resource limiting setting.