Erysipelothrix bacteremia without endocarditis: rare event or under-reported occurrence?

A patient presented with inflamed hands and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae bacteremia. Because a high incidence of endocarditis has been reported with this organism, a transesophageal echocardiogram was obtained, which was normal. Treatment with oral moxifloxacin resolved all manifestations of illness. The association between E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia and endocarditis may be spurious.