IJSR International Journal of Scientific Research 2277 - 8179 Indian Society for Health and Advanced Research ijsr-8-12-23485 Original Research Paper Combating Kocuria: A game of shadows Baishali Chakraborty Dr. December 2019 8 12 01 02 ABSTRACT

Introduction: Kocuria species is now an upcoming pathogen. They are gram–positive cocci and are catalase positive but coagulase negative, hence causing confusion with coagulase negative staphylococci. There are no CLSI guidelines for antibiotic sensitivity testing yet established for this pathogen. Here we present some cases in the pediatric age group caused by Kocuria spp. Materials and methods: Kocuria spp. were isolated from 28 different clinical samples. The morphological and biochemical features suggestive of Kocuria were confirmed by Vitek–2 system. Susceptibility testing was performed according to the CLSI guidelines for Staphylococcus. Results: We found four Kocuria spp. causing infections – K. kristinae, K. rosea, K. varians and K. rhizophila. Out of 28 isolates, 13 were multidrug resistant. Conclusion: Insufficient literature is available to establish antibiotic susceptibility profile of this bacteria. Available data show it to be broadly susceptible to most of the antibiotics. However, the present study showed a different picture.