Sucrose-positive Edwardsiella tarda mimicking a biogroup 1 strain isolated from a patient with cholelithiasis.

An unusual strain of Edwardsiella tarda mimicking a biogroup 1 isolate was recovered in a mixed infection from a woman suffering from cholelithiasis. Rare biochemical characteristics (e.g., H2S negativity) originally detected were related to an unusual biochemical property in this species, sucrose fermentation; other points of interest regarding this strain included the site of isolation (bile) and the failure of this isolate to produce many of the in vitro virulence markers associated with E. tarda.