Severe Sepsis Secondary to Persistent Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Lysinibacillus fusiformis and Paenibacillus amylolyticus Bacteremia

Lysinibacillus and Paenibacillus are pervasive bacteria rarely associated with human disease. Less sophisticated microbiology techniques may frequently incorrectly identify these genera as Bacillus spp., often regarded as environmental contamination. This report describes a case of severe sepsis due to persistent Lysinibacillus and Paenibacillus bacteremia, identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.