Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis Bacteremia

Moraxella catarrhalis is increasingly recognized as a cause of pulmonary and upper airway disease, but bacteremia remains unusual. We treated a 71-year-old man who died of rapidly progressive bacteremic M catarrhalis bronchopneumonia. This case, and a review of the 27 previously reported M catarrhalis bacteremias in the literature, demonstrated that M catarrhalis can be a virulent organism capable of causing serious infection and death in both immunocompetent and compromised hosts.