Human meningitis due to Streptococcus suis in Lomé, Togo: a case report

Abstract

Background Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen which represents the leading cause of meningitis in Southeast Asia and an emerging pathogen in the Western world, the main risk factor for infection being contact with pigs. In Africa, the prevalence of S. suis infections in swine and humans is largely unrecognized, with only one recent report of a limited case series.Case presentationWe describe a human case of meningitis due to S. suis in a 32-year-old man living in Togo. The patient had no particular medical history and no risk factors for immunodeficiency but reported regular contact with pork products. Using specific immunological and molecular methods, we characterized the isolate as S. suis serotype 2, ST1, one the most prevalent and virulent clone worldwide. The outcome was favorable after one week of adapted antibiotic therapy but the patient was left with severe hearing disorders.ConclusionsThis work highlights the emergence of this pathogen in Africa and reinforces the need for accurate epidemiological and surveillance studies of S. suis infections and for educating clinicians and exposed groups in non-endemic countries.

Update on Streptococcus suis Research and Prevention in the Era of Antimicrobial Restriction: 4th International Workshop on S. suis

“…Although many countries perform systematic surveillance of vaccine-preventable and other common causes of meningitis, S. suis meningitis is not a notifiable disease, with the exception of northern Thailand between 2008 and 2012. The burden of human S. suis infections is likely to be underestimated as indicated by case reports from an increasing number of countries [2,[104][105][106][107][108][109], and human S. suis infections have now been reported from all continents. A recent study estimated the burden of disease caused by S. suis in Vietnam and reported annual disease incidence ranging from 0.249 to 0.324 per 100,000 population, in the years 2011-2014 [110].…”

Streptococcus suis – The “Two Faces” of a Pathobiont in the Porcine Respiratory Tract

“…This is interesting because only few human cases have been reported from South America so far. One case of meningitis due to S. suis serotype 2 from Togo was reported in 2016 ( Prince-David et al, 2016 ), which illustrates the emergence of this pathogen in a country, where it was previously unrecognized.…”

Identification of Streptococcus suis Meningitis by Direct Triplex Real-Time PCR, Burkina Faso

“…Limited data are available regarding the incidence of streptococcal infections in Africa, and the disease burden likely is underestimated, especially for disease caused by S. suis . Two reported studies conducted in Togo identified 16 human cases of S. suis meningitis during 2010–2015 caused by serotype 2 ( 13 , 14 ). Another recent study in Madagascar described 2 human cases of S. suis meningitis, also caused by serotype 2 ( 15 ).…”