J Clin Neurol.  2012 Mar;8(1):79-82. 10.3988/jcn.2012.8.1.79.

Meningitis Caused by Streptococcus suis: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. Byeong.Kim@chonnam.ac.kr

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Human infection with Streptococcus suis (S. suis), a zoonotic pathogen, has been reported mainly in pig-rearing and pork-consuming countries. Meningitis is the most-common clinical manifestation and is often associated with deafness and vestibular dysfunction.
CASE REPORT
A 57-year-old man was referred to the hospital with headaches, fevers, chills, and hearing impairment. Meningitis was confirmed and S. suis was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. Spondylodiscitis occurred after 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment, and was successfully treated with a prolonged course of antibiotics for another 4 weeks. His hearing loss was irreversible despite the improvement of other symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS
We report the first human case of S. suis infection in Korea. In patients presenting with meningitis, S. suis should be considered if the characteristic features of prominent and early hearing loss are present.

Keyword

Streptococcus suis; meningitis; hearing impairment; spondylodiscitis

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Chills
Deafness
Discitis
Fever
Headache
Hearing Loss
Humans
Korea
Meningitis
Middle Aged
Streptococcus
Streptococcus suis
Anti-Bacterial Agents

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Brain MRI of the patient. Axial T1-weighted (A) and gadolinium-enhanced (B) images showing no abnormalities in the inner ear and brain parenchyma.

  • Fig. 2 Lumbar spine MRI of the patient. Sagittal T1-weighted (A) and gadolinium-enhanced (B) images show irregular, patchy, marrow signal changes and gadolinium enhancement with erosive change of vertebral endplates and mild anterior paraspinal inflammatory soft-tissue thickening at the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebral bodies. The follow-up sagittal T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced image (C) revealed progression of the same lesion.


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