Isolation and Identification of an Emerging Pathogen, Kocuria marina, from Rattus rattus diardii

ABSTRACT

Members of the genus Kocuria are commonly found in the environment and they are also commensals of the mammalian skin and oropharynx mucosa. Human infections, although rare, are increasingly being reported recently suggesting that this genus has mostly been overlooked or misidentified. Its transmission route however, is still not known. We report here the isolation and identification of a Kocuria marina isolate from the lung of a wild urban rat (Rattus rattus diardii) caught at a wet market. The isolate was susceptible to most of the commonly used antibiotics. The finding suggests a possibility that rats could be a vector for K. marina.