Human Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Infection: Unsolved Issues and Possible Solutions.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection in humans may not be as rare as previously thought. In most cases, the disease is acquired from animals through work-related exposure. Human infection has been reported since the early 1900's up to the present. Unsolved issues associated with this organism include inadequate disease control in animals, difficulty in identification and isolation of the bacteria, diagnostic delay due to unawareness of this uncommon disease or unfamiliarity with the increasingly diverse clinical manifestations, and inappropriate antibiotic use due to misdiagnosis, as well as drug resistance. In this review, we attempt to address the unsolved issues related to human Erysipelothrix infection and suggest possible solutions.