Disseminated cutaneous protothecosis in an immunocompromised host: a case report and literature review.

Protothecosis is an infection caused by achloric algae of the genus Prototheca. These organisms have been isolated from water, sewage, soil, and the slime flux of trees, and are a known cause of disease in other mammals. Infection in humans occurs after traumatic inoculation, producing localized olecranon bursal or, rarely, systemic disease. Only two previous cases of disseminated cutaneous disease have been reported in patients with defective neutrophil function. We describe a rare case of widespread cutaneous dissemination occurring after an arthropod bite in an immunocompromised patient.