Aeromonas sobria sepsis complicated by rhabdomyolysis in an HIV-positive patient: case report and evaluation of traits associated with bacterial virulence.

Human infection with Aeromonas species is uncommon and most often due to trauma with exposure to contaminated water or soil. A 43-year-old HIV- and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected male, after a two-week course of corticosteroid therapy for an autoimmune anemia, developed diarrhea, dermatologic manifestations and a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, resulting in death. Although stool samples were repeatedly negative, two sets of blood cultures obtained during a single peak of fever yielded the post-mortem isolation of a Gram-negative, oxidase-positive, beta-hemolytic bacillus that was identified as Aeromonas sobria.