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Volume 31, Number 2—February 2025
Dispatch
Diphtheria Toxin–Producing Corynebacterium ramonii in Inner-City Population, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2019–2023
, Gordon Ritchie1, Chiara Crestani, Miguel Imperial, Nancy Matic, Michael Payne, Aleksandra Stefanovic, Diana Whellams, Sylvain Brisse2, and Marc G. Romney2
Table
Antimicrobial drug susceptibility, co-isolated bacteria, and toxin test results for wound specimens containing Corynebacterium ulcerans and C. ramonii collected in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2019–2023*
| Characteristics | Corynebacterium ulcerans, n = 6 | Corynebacterium ramonii, n = 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Antimicrobial drug susceptibility | ||
| Penicillin | NA | Intermediate, n = 8 |
| Erythromycin | NA | Susceptible, n = 8 |
| Clindamycin | NA | Susceptible, n = 1; intermediate, n = 7 |
| Vancomycin |
NA |
Susceptible, n = 8 |
| Frequency of co-isolated bacteria from wound cultures |
Enterobacterales, n = 4; MSSA, n = 3; coagulase-negative staphylococci,† n = 2; β-hemolytic Streptococcus,‡ n = 2; Acinetobacter baumannii, n = 1 |
β-hemolytic Streptococcus,§ n = 6; Arcanobacterium hemolyticum, n = 4; MSSA, n = 4; Enterobacterales, n = 3; yeast, n = 1; Pasteurella multocida, n = 1 |
| Toxin testing, no. (%) isolates | ||
| Nontoxigenic | 4 (66.6) | 4 (50.0) |
| Nontoxigenic, tox gene–bearing | 0 | 1 (12.5) |
| Toxigenic | 2 (33.3) | 3 (37.5) |
*Bacteria were isolated from wounds on lower extremities of patients. MSSA, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus; NA, not applicable. †Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, S. lugdunensis. ‡Streptococcus dysgalactiae and group G Streptococcus. §Streptococcus pyogenes, S. dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.
2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.