One of the foremen at a pig farm notices purple sores on one of his workers. The worker has not been feeling well for the past two weeks, so the foreman sends him to the doctor. The doctor takes scrapings from the sores and sends them to the laboratory for a culture and susceptibility. The Gram stain shows 3 thin, gram-positive rods that are short but also have filaments. The culture plates were examined the next day and revealed alpha hemolytic, pinpoint, transparent colonies. The catalase reaction was negative. The TSI H2S was positive. What is the most likely pathogen?

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a Gram-positive, catalase-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, nonacid-fast, nonmotile bacterium. Distributed worldwide, E. rhusiopathiae is primarily considered an animal pathogen, causing the disease known as erysipelas that may affect a wide range of animals.

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