INTRODUCTION: Lemierre's syndrome is a rare but serious complication of an oral 
infection mostly related to Fusobacterium necrophorum. This condition combines 
jugular vein thrombosis and septic emboli to the lungs or other organs.
CASE PRESENTATION: We report here an original case of a pharyngeal abscess 
complicated by Lemierre's syndrome in a young healthy male patient. Samples 
taken from the pus of the pharyngeal abscess showed the presence of Gardnerella 
vaginalis associated with Fusobacterium necrophorum. The patient was treated by 
draining the abscess, antibiotic therapy and preventive anticoagulation for 1 
month. The evolution was good with a resolution of the thrombosis.
CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the need for bacterial identification to adapt 
antibiotic therapy in Lemierre's syndrome. It also shows the possibility of 
extragenital localization of Gardnerella vaginalis in a male patient having oral 
sex with women. In contrast to sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis 
and pharyngeal gonococcus, this oral localization of Gardnerella vaginalis has 
not been described previously in the literature.