Corynebacterium silvaticum in a game-handling butcher: A new zoonotic pathogen of human infections.

The recently described Corynebacterium (C.) silvaticum is a diphtheria toxin (tox-) gene bearing species so far mainly found in wild boar and deers. Due to its close relationship to C. ulcerans a zoonotic potential has been proposed. To date, only two cases of human C. silvaticum infections have been reported in the literature. Here we present the case of a 63-year-old male game-hunting butcher with recurrent and difficult-to-treat axillary lymphadenitis and abscess formation. This case underlines the zoonotic potential of this novel member of the C. diphtheriae species complex and suggests zoonotic transmission from wild boars via direct contact to infectious tissue and possible microtrauma lesions during unprotected animal processing.