Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae

Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae is a gram-positive coccus that may cause pneumonia in humans.[1][2] It was first described in 2004.[1] The organism is often mistaken for S. pneumoniae[1] and its clinical importance is as yet uncertain. It seems likely that most cases of S. pseudopneumoniae pneumonia are misdiagnosed as S. pneumoniae.[2]

Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Firmicutes
Class:
Bacilli
Order:
Lactobacillales
Family:
Streptococcaceae
Genus:
Streptococcus
Species:
S. pseudopneumoniae
Binomial name
Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae
Arbique et al. 2004

The bacterium has a number of features that allows it to be distinguished from S. pneumoniae:[2]

  • There is no pneumococcal capsule (and is therefore not typable).[2]
  • It is not soluble in bile.[2]
  • It is sensitive to optochin when incubated in ambient air, but appears resistant or to have indeterminate susceptibility when incubated in 5% carbon dioxide.[2]
  • Commercial DNA probe hybridization tests (e.g., AccuProbe Streptococcus pneumoniae culture identification test; Gen-Probe, San Diego, CA) are falsely positive.[2]

Penicillin is the treatment of choice.[2] Most reported isolates are resistant to erythromycin and to tetracycline.

References
  1. Arbique JC, Poyart C, Trieu-Cuot P, et al. (2004). "Accuracy of phenotypic and genotypic testing for identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae and description of Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae sp. nov". J Clin Microbiol. 42 (10): 4686–4696. doi:10.1128/JCM.42.10.4686-4696.2004. PMC 522306. PMID 15472328.
  2. Keith ER, Podmore RG, Anderson TP, Murdoch DR (2006). "Characteristics of Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae isolated from purulent sputum samples". J Clin Microbiol. 44 (3): 923–927. doi:10.1128/JCM.44.3.923-927.2006. PMC 1393130. PMID 16517877.

Further reading


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.