First case of febrile bacteremia due to a wild type and small-colony variant of Escherichia coli

Reported here is a case of a febrile illness caused by a wild type and small-colony variant of Escherichia coli in an anorectic patient. A review of the literature revealed that the formation of small-colony variants in E. coli has been recognized since 1931. In recent years, an association has been established between those variants and chronic recurrent infections. This report describes for the first time the isolation of an E. coli small-colony variant from a blood culture of a patient who had suffered from chronic urinary tract infections in the past.