title: Streptococcus suis meningitis with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: Streptococcus suis infection is an emerging zoonosis in Asia. The most common disease manifestation is meningitis, which is often associated with hearing loss and cochleovestibular signs. S. suis infection in humans mainly occurs among risk groups that have frequent exposure to pigs or raw pork. Here, we report a case of S. suis meningitis in a 67-yr-old pig carcass handler, who presented with dizziness and sensorineural hearing loss followed by headaches. Gram-positive diplococci were isolated from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood cultures and showed gray-white colonies with α-hemolysis. S. suis was identified from CSF and blood cultures by using a Vitek 2 system (bioMérieux, France), API 20 STREP (bioMérieux), and performing 16S rRNA and tuf gene sequencing. Even after receiving antibiotic treatment, patients with S. suis infection frequently show complications such as hearing impairment and vestibular dysfunction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of S. suis meningitis in Korea. Prevention through public health surveillance is recommended, especially for individuals who have occupational exposures to swine and raw pork.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Jae
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Kyoung-Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ja-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jang Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yoon Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Cheol-In
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chang-Seok
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ki
authors.forename: Nam Yong
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017011:Streptococcus suis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013552:Swine; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S