A Rare Cause of a Scrotal Abscess due to the Symbiotic Infection of Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella bivia in an Adult Male

Anthony Bekasiak; Fabian Dammann; Claudia Nader

doi:10.3390/pathogens9020093

A Rare Cause of a Scrotal Abscess due to the Symbiotic Infection of Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella bivia in an Adult Male

Pathogens. 2020 Feb 1;9(2):93. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9020093.

Authors

Anthony Bekasiak^{1

2}, Fabian Dammann^{1

2}, Claudia Nader^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA 02135, USA.
² Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
³ Division of Infectious Disease, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA 02135, USA.

Abstract

Gardnerella vaginalis (G. vaginalis) is the major bacteria detected in women with bacterial vaginosis (BV). Prevotella bivia (P. bivia) has been demonstrated to show a symbiotic relationship with G. vaginalis. Some men have been shown to be colonized with G. vaginalis in their urogenital or anorectal tracts, however genitourinary infections in males, including balanitis and urethritis, due to this organism appear to be much less common. In this report, we summarize previous cases of men with G. vaginalis infection, and we present a rare and unusual case of a unilateral scrotal abscess caused by G. vaginalis in co-infection with P. bivia.

Keywords: Gardnerella vaginalis; Prevotella bivia; bacterial vaginosis; male genitourinary infection; scrotal abscess; sexually transmitted infections.

Publication types

Case Reports