Streptococcus thoraltensis
| Streptococcus thoraltensis | |
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| Species: | S. thoraltensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Streptococcus thoraltensis Devriese et al., 1997
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| Type strain | |
| S69 (DSM 12221) | |
Streptococcus thoraltensis is a species of Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic bacteria in the genus Streptococcus. It was first described in 1997 after isolation from the genital tract of sows in Belgium.[1] The species is part of the viridans streptococci group and is primarily associated with animals, particularly pigs. Although rare in clinical contexts, it has been occasionally reported as an opportunistic pathogen in humans.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]S. thoraltensis was described in 1997 based on isolates from healthy sows.[1] It belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, order Lactobacillales, and phylum Bacillota. The species name refers to Torhout, Belgium (Latin: Thoraltum), where it was first discovered. The type strain is S69, also catalogued as DSM 12221.[3]
Ecology
[edit]S. thoraltensis has been isolated from the gastrointestinal and genital tracts of pigs and rabbits.[4] It has also been found in raw cow's milk, likely through environmental contamination.[5] Its presence in humans is rare, but it has been recovered from subgingival plaque,[6] nasopharyngeal swabs,[7] and the respiratory tract, particularly in individuals with animal contact or compromised immunity.
Clinical relevance
[edit]The bacterium is generally considered nonpathogenic in animals, though it may act as a commensal.[1] In humans, a small number of opportunistic infections have been reported, including cases of bacteremia,[2] pneumonia,[8] endocarditis,[9] and maternal-neonatal infection.[10] A 2019 case documented postpartum pneumonia and sepsis caused by S. thoraltensis,[8] and another in 2020 reported vancomycin-resistant endocarditis in a patient with a prosthetic heart valve.[9]
Most clinical isolates have been susceptible to beta-lactams and vancomycin, though some environmental strains harbor antimicrobial resistance genes such as vanA and optrA, raising concern over emerging multidrug resistance.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Devriese, LA (1997). "Streptococcus hyovaginalis sp. nov. and Streptococcus thoraltensis sp. nov., from the genital tract of sows". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 47 (4): 1073–1077. doi:10.1099/00207713-47-4-1073. PMID 9336904.
- ^ a b Petridis, N (2018). "Streptococcus thoraltensis bacteremia: First described case as a fever of unknown origin in a human". Case Reports in Infectious Diseases. 2018: 7956890. doi:10.1155/2018/7956890. PMC 6305016. PMID 30631614.
- ^ "Details: DSM-12221". DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ^ Borø, S (2010). "Isolation of Streptococcus thoraltensis from rabbit faeces". Current Microbiology. 61 (4): 357–360. doi:10.1007/s00284-010-9619-0. PMID 20217090.
- ^ a b Chiorescu, RM (2024). "Vancomycin-resistant Streptococcus thoraltensis: A case report of bacterial endocarditis and review of literature on infections caused by this pathogen". Microorganisms. 12 (3): 566. doi:10.3390/microorganisms12030566. PMC 10975471. PMID 38543617.
- ^ Dhotre, S (2014). "Isolation of Streptococcus thoraltensis from the human oral cavity". Indian Journal of Dentistry. 5 (3): 140–141. doi:10.1016/j.ijd.2014.03.003.
- ^ Alwakeel, SS (2017). "Microbiological and molecular identification of bacterial species isolated from nasal and oropharyngeal mucosa of fuel workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia". Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 24 (6): 1281–1287. doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.12.001. PMC 5562451. PMID 28855823.
- ^ a b Wazir, M (2019). "Streptococcus thoraltensis bacteremia: A case of pneumonia in a postpartum patient". Cureus. 11 (9): e5659. doi:10.7759/cureus.5659. PMID 31720135.
- ^ a b Hai, PD (2020). "A case of bacteremia and prosthetic valve endocarditis in a 68-year-old Vietnamese man". American Journal of Case Reports. 21: e925752. doi:10.12659/AJCR.925752. PMC 7684426. PMID 33216736.
- ^ Vukonich, M (2015). "Chorioamnionitis attributed to Streptococcus thoraltensis". South Dakota Medicine. 68 (7): 298–299.