Mycobacterium marinum infection: A case report

The infection bymycobacterium marinumin humans is relatively uncommon. when it occurs,it mainly affects the skin,usually with a chronic,indolent and benign evolution. the diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion,and a significant delay may be observed between the first symptoms to the final diagnosis. this present case reports am. marinuminfection in an immunocompetent patient that had a chronic undiagnosed injury on the dominant hand for at least five years. the patient had several medical consultations,without proper suspicion,hampering adequate diagnostic investigation. histopathology detected tuberculoid granulomas,but showed no acid-fast bacilli. the culture in appropriate medium and the polymerase chain reaction-restriction enzyme analysis (pra)-hsp65 confirmed the diagnosis. treatment with clarithromycin (1 g/day) for three months was effective. although uncommon,this infection is a contact zoonosis. therefore,it is important for clinicians to be aware of this diagnosis and properly guide preventable measures to professionals that are in risk group. © 2015 sette et al.