To the Editor: Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonosis in humans and a common pathogen in Australian pigs.1 However, only two cases of human infection have previously been reported in Australia.2,3 We recently treated two Australian piggery workers, from the same town in New South Wales, for S. suis endocarditis.
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- Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT.
Correspondence: karina.kennedy@act.gov.au
- 1. Robertson ID, Blackmore DK. Prevalence of Streptococcus suis types 1 and 2 in domestic pigs in Australia and New Zealand. Vet Rec 1989; 124: 391-394.
- 2. Hampson DJ, Trott DJ, Clarke IL, et al. Population structure of Australian isolates of Streptococcus suis. J Clin Microbiol 1993; 31: 2895-2900.
- 3. Tramontana AR, Graham M, Sinickas V, Bak N. An Australian case of Streptococcus suis toxic shock syndrome associated with occupational exposure to animal carcasses. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 538-539. <MJA full text>
- 4. Perch B, Kristjansen P, Skadhauge KN. Group R streptococci pathogenic for man. Two cases of meningitis and one fatal case of sepsis. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand 1968; 74: 69-76.
- 5. Lun ZR, Wang QP, Chen XG, et al. Streptococcus suis: an emerging zoonotic pathogen. Lancet Infect Dis 2007; 7: 201-209.
- 6. Wangkaew S, Chaiwarith R, Tharavichitkul P, Supparatpinyo K. Streptococcus suis infection: a series of 41 cases from Chiang Mai University Hospital. J Infect 2006; 52: 455-460.
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