HACEK organism

A HACEK organism is one of a set of slow-growing Gram negative bacteria that form a normal part of the human flora. They are a frequent cause of inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, (endocarditis) in children.

The name is formed from their initials:

• Haemophilus aphrophilus and Haemophilus paraphrophilus
• Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans
• Cardiobacterium hominis
• Eikenella corrodens
• Kingella kingae