Kingella infections

[Mary Mallozziberg]

Kingella are gram-negative organisms that colonize the human respiratory tract. 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. Kingella are recovered from the human respiratory tract and are a rare cause of human disease.
Among Kingella species, Kingella kingae is the most frequent human pathogen; these organisms frequently colonize the respiratory mucous membranes. Children aged 6 months to 4 years have the highest rates of colonization and invasive disease from this respiratory tract pathogen. K. kingae is 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.