BACKGROUND: The overuse of antibiotics in animals promotes the development of multidrug-resistance predisposing for severe polymicrobial human infections.

CASE REPORT: We describe a case of spontaneous clostridial myonecrosis due to ulcerative colonic infection with multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, serotype 4,[5],12: i: –. Serotyping of the colonic Salmonella isolate in the index case and the bovine farm outbreak isolates from where the patient worked indicated they were both serotype I 4,[5],12: i: –, which is linked with a multitude of large reported disease outbreaks. Further analysis revealed that they are highly genetically related and antibiotic susceptibility testing indicated that they are phenotypically identical.

CONCLUSIONS: Enteritis due to human acquisition of multidrug-resistant Salmonella from cattle led to the invasion and dissemination of Clostridium septicum resulting in devastating myonecrotic disease. This highlights the ramifications of co-existence and evolution of pathogenic bacteria in animals and humans and lends support to reducing the use of antibiotics in animals.

Keywords: Clostridium septicum, multi-drug resistance, Salmonella Infections, Zoonoses, Clostridium Infections, Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial, Muscle, Skeletal, Necrosis, Salmonella enterica, young adult