From Commensal to Pathogen: Unveiling Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae as a Cause of Meningitis and a Literature Review.

Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae is a very rare pathogen; in the majority of cases, it is a commensal in the upper respiratory tract, causing chronic atrophic rhinitis; however, it is now recognized as a cause of many invasive infections. We report a rare case of meningitis in a young man with a history of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and hypertension, where Klebsiella ozaenae isolation from cerebrospinal fluid made the diagnosis definite, and also a literature review. In spite of the treatment received with ceftriaxone and vancomycin, he unfortunately succumbed to the disease. After a thorough literature review, this is the first fatal documented case of Klebsiella ozaenae meningitis in a young male in India that proves the rarity of this infection as well as the virulence of the organism.