Mycoplasma phocimorsus: (mī-kō-′plaz-mə fō-ki-′mȯr-səs), panaritium (pan-ə-′rish-ē-əm)

This issue of EID incudes a report of patient with a cat scratch–induced panaritium caused by infection with the bacterium Mycoplasma phocimorsus (see page XXX). In 2023, researchers at Statens Serum Institut in Denmark reported a novel species of the bacterial class Mollicutes (from the Latin mollis for soft and cutis for skin). The new species was named Mycoplasma phocimorsus (phoca for seal, morsus for bite); 6 strains were found in samples from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

The infection linked to exposure to seals was first identified in 1907 and is commonly referred to as seal, blubber, or spekk finger, with "spekk" being the Norwegian term for blubber. Individuals affected by this condition typically show superficial lesions around the fingernail known as whitlows. However, if the infection penetrates deeper, it can affect the tendon sheath, leading to a painful ailment known as panaritium tendineum. While the terms panaritium, whitlow, and paronychia are often used interchangeably, "panaritium" more accurately refers to the purulent inflammation and infection of the digital tendons.

The etymology for Mycoplasma (mykes for fungus, plasma for formed) is complicated. The word was introduced by A.B. Frank in 1889 to denote an intimate relationship between plant-invading fungi or other microorganisms and their host cells, whose cytoplasm is altered by the infection. Frank described mycoplasma as a “mixture of fungal and plant protoplasm…that it gave rise to bacteroid tissue.”