Bacteremia Due to Actinomyces naeslundii in a T cell Lymphoma Child; a Case Report

Actinomyces naeslundii is one of the normal flora of human oral cavities and is associated with oral plaque. This organism is not virulent and is recognized as a saprophyte organism however it seems that the identification of a primary or secondary immunosuppressant plays a critical role in the etiology of bacteremia. That is, whether A. naeslundii is the causative agent of malignancy or not needs further studies in future. We report a case of A. naeslundii bacteremia in an 11 year-old boy with persistent fever for two weeks prior hospital admission. He was finally diagnosed with malignant T cell lymphoma. Isolation of this bacterium from the blood culture of our patient can serve as an important warning indicating that incuriosity about fastidious and not easily grown bacteria isolated from clinical samples may lead to misinterpretation and misdiagnosis.