infectious diseases
Kingella Infections
Introduction
Kingellaare gram-negative organisms that colonize the human oropharynx. They cause skeletal infections, endocarditis, and bacteremia and, rarely, pneumonia, epiglottitis, meningitis, abscesses, and ocular infections. Kingella, which belong to the family Neisseriaceae, are short, nonmotile, gram-negative coccobacilli that occur in pairs or short chains. The organisms are slow-growing and fastidious.Kingellaare recovered from the human oropharynx and are a rare cause of human disease. AmongKingellaspecies,Kingella kingaeis the most frequent human pathogen; these organisms frequently colonize the mucous membranes of the oropharynx. Children aged 6 months to 4 years have the highest rates of colonization and invasive disease from this pathogen.K. kingaeis transmitted from child to child through close personal contact (eg, at day care centers). Infection has a seasonal distribution, with more cases in fall and winter. 