Hafnia alvei

Background

• Gram-negative bacillus in the genus Hafnia
• Rare cause of disease in humans

Clinical Manifestations

• Can cause bacteremia, gastroenteritis, meningitis, pneumonia, nosocomial wound infections, hepatobiliary infections, psoas abscess, prosthetic valve endocarditis, and endophthalmitis12

Management

• Reliably susceptible to imipenem, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, aminoglycosides, cotrimoxazole123
  • Often susceptible to nitrofurantoin4
• May be susceptible to ceftriaxone and ceftazidime, but may have inducible resistance5
• Unreliably susceptible to cephalothin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and piperacillin35