Abstract

Focal extraintestinal infections from nontyphoid salmonellae have increased in incidence during the past decade. Typically, they are manifested as either osteomyelitis or meningitis as a complication of either bacteremia or enteric fever. Isolated salmonellal soft tissue infections, however, are rare and occur mostly in adults with chronic underlying conditions such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, diabetes mellitus, and cell-mediated immunity defects. We report a case of an otherwise healthy adolescent who was exposed to a guinea pig with a skin mass. She subsequently had an isolated soft tissue infection with cartilaginous involvement of the anterior chest wall due to Salmonella enterica serogroup C1 (bioserotype oranienburg).