A Fatal Human Case of Pasteurella Multocida Septicaemia after Cat Bite

Abstract

A man, aged 62, fell ill about 10 days after a bite by a cat. On admission to the hospital he was icteric with signs of septicaemia. Gram-negative, bipolar rods isolated from blood were identified as Pasteurella multocida. Although treated with high doses of penicillin the patient died after 1 week. At autopsy a cirrhotic liver and multifocal haemorrhages in many internal organs were found. A septicaemia caused by this organism is very rare and a lowered resistance seems to be a prerequisite to this manifestation of infection.