Meningitis due to Streptococcus suis in Two Patients with Occupational Exposure from Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic agent that causes bacterial meningitis. S. suis is an encapsulated Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic bacterium. This infection usually manifests in humans as meningitis, endocarditis, septicemia, and/or arthritis. The primary groups at risk for S. suis infection are individuals occupationally exposed to pigs and/or pork, for example, farmers, butchers, and hunters. Herein, we report two cases of meningitis related to S. suis with occupational exposure from the Ceará state, northeastern Brazil.

Meningitis and sepsis caused by Streptococcus suis in an elderly woman: A CARE-compliant case report

“…[ 13 , 14 ] The classic meningitis triad is characterized by fever, headache, and an altered state of consciousness. [ 15 ] In our patient, the clinical manifestations of fever, generalized pain, headache, dizziness, vomiting, and altered consciousness were consistent with meningitis. The mNGS results of the blood and CSF (as well as the subsequent bacterial culture results) all identified S suis , further confirming that the case was meningitis associated with S suis infection.…”

Streptococcus suis meningitis: An emerging zoonotic disease in Brazil

“…A verbal report of an occurrence in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais was preceded by a later report of a case associated with pork consumption involving an older person in Rio de Janeiro 6 . Subsequently, two additional cases of meningitis associated with the handling of pigs or pork products were described in the state of Ceará in northeastern Brazil 7 . Characteristics of meningitis cases attributed to Streptococcus suis identified in Brazil are outlined in Table 2 .…”

“…Here, we report a case of S. suis meningitis that occurred in the semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil. A literature review was performed using the Cochrane Library, LILACS, SciELO, MEDLINE, PubMed, and PubMed Central (PMC) databases and found only S. suis meningitis reported by Silva et al and Ponte de Matos et al 6 , 7 .…”

“…In Brazil, studies conducted on farms in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Paraná found that 58.8% of all pigs were infected with S. suis, mainly serotypes 2 and 9 [3][4][5] . Recent cases of meningitis in humans have been reported to be associated with the consumption of pork products or occupational exposure 6,7 .…”

A Rare Cause of Septicemia After Pork Meat Ingestion

“…Most reports concentrate on Southeast Asia, where the pork industry and meat consumption are marked. In Brazil, serotype 2, known to be the most virulent, is the most prevalent [ 2 ]. The clinical picture is characterized by septicemia with or without involvement of the cerebral meninges.…”