Streptococcus Anginosus - Infections

Infections

Streptococcus anginosus is part of the human bacteria flora, but can cause diseases including brain and liver abscesses under certain circumstances. The habitat of S. anginosus is a wide variety of sites inside the human body. Cultures have been taken from the mouth, throat, feces, and vagina, yielding both hemolytic(mouth) and nonhemolytic(fecal and vaginal strains). Because of the commonplace with this bacterium and the human body, there are a number of infections that are caused by S. anginosus.

Pyogenic liver abscess is associated with S. anginosus and in studies in the 1970s was reported to be the most common cause of hepatic abscess. It was also reported that S. anginosus rarely causes infections in healthy individuals but instead it is usually the immunodeficient individuals who were victim to this bacterium. A case study was reported on a 40 year old man who frequently drank alcohol and had poor oral hygiene. He was admitted to hospital with high fever and malaise. During diagnostic testing, a abscess was found on his liver, from which 550cc of hemopurulent exudate was drained. The exudate was cultured and S. anginosus was found. Disc diffusion technique revealed that bacterium was sensitive to penicillin. Patient was asymptomatic on 30th day of treatment. It was noted that the duration of symptoms is longer with liver abscesses associated with S. aginosus than with other microorganisms.

Another study showed a case with a diagnosis of sympathetic empyema that was likely secondary to splenic abscess. Cultures of both sites grew Streptococcus anginosus. The empyema responded well to treatments however the splenic abscess required three weeks of drainage before the abscess resolved. Authors noted that there were no known cases of sympathetic empyema caused by Streptococcus anginosus.