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Scientific article
English

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus meningitis: clinical and microbiological features of nine cases

Published inClinical infectious diseases, vol. 29, no. 4, p. 929-931
Publication date1999
Abstract

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GAS) meningitis is a rare disease in adults. We conducted a retrospective study to describe clinical and microbiological features of nine cases of GAS meningitis in Switzerland. Of nine patients, six had neurosurgical conditions, and five had upper respiratory tract infections. Eight cases were community-acquired. The outcome of GAS meningitis was favorable; only one patient died of neurosurgical complications. No patient presented with toxic shock syndrome. Serotyping failed to reveal a dominant strain, and genotyping revealed that two strains carried the gene encoding the streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin C and that one strain carried the gene encoding the streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A. Our observations suggest that GAS meningitis in adults is associated with neurosurgical conditions and/or an upper respiratory tract infection.

Keywords
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Meningitis, Bacterial/ etiology/microbiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Streptococcal Infections/ etiology/microbiology
  • Streptococcus pyogenes/pathogenicity
  • Virulence
Citation (ISO format)
SOMMER, Richard Andréas et al. Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus meningitis: clinical and microbiological features of nine cases. In: Clinical infectious diseases, 1999, vol. 29, n° 4, p. 929–931. doi: 10.1086/520461
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ISSN of the journal1058-4838
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