title: Human oropharynx as natural reservoir of Streptobacillus hongkongensis.
abstract: Recently, we reported the isolation of Streptobacillus hongkongensis sp. nov. from patients with quinsy or septic arthritis. In this study, we developed a PCR sequencing test after sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and nalidixic acid enrichment for detection of S. hongkongensis. During a three-month study period, among the throat swabs from 132 patients with acute pharyngitis and 264 controls, PCR and DNA sequencing confirmed that S. hongkongensis and S. hongkongensis-like bacteria were detected in 16 patients and 29 control samples, respectively. Among these 45 positive samples, five different sequence variants were detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that sequence variant 1 was clustered with S. hongkongensis HKU33(T)/HKU34 with high bootstrap support; while the other four sequence variants formed another distinct cluster. When compared with the 16S rRNA gene of S. hongkongensis HKU33(T), the five sequence variants possessed 97.5-100% sequence identities. Among sequence variants 2-5, their sequences showed ≥99.5% nucleotide identities to each other. Forty-two individuals (93.3%) only harbored one sequence variant. We showed that the human oropharynx is a reservoir of S. hongkongensis, but the bacterium is not associated with acute pharyngitis. Another undescribed novel Streptobacillus species is probably also residing in the human oropharynx.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Susanna K P
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Jasper F W
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Chi-Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics &Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Sau-Man
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Clinical Pathology, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Man-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tak-Lun
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Que
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics &Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yu-Lung
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.|Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Patrick C Y
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Woo
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013288:Streptobacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S