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Volume 14, Number 1—January 2008
Letter

Streptococcus suis in Humans, Thailand

Daisuke Takamatsu*, Korawan Wongsawan†, Makoto Osaki*, Hiroto Nishino‡, Tomono Ishiji§, Prasit Tharavichitkul†, Banyong Khantawa†, Achara Fongcom¶, Shinji Takai#, and Tsutomu Sekizaki***Comments to Author 
Author affiliations: *National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; †Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand; ‡Northern District Livestock Health and Hygiene Office, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan; §Seibu Livestock Hygiene Service Center, Tonami, Toyama, Japan; ¶Lamphun Provincial Hospital, Lamphun, Thailand; #Kitasato University, Towada, Aomori, Japan; **Gifu University, Gifu, Gifu, Japan;

Main Article

Table

Epidemiologic data of Streptococcus suis isolates from patients in Thailand, 1998–2002*

Isolate no.† Year of isolation Site of isolation Virulence-associated genes‡§ Serotype Diseases and symptoms ST (ST complex)
MNCM01 2000 Blood cps2J+/sly+/epf+/mrp+ 2¶ Endocarditis 1 (1)
MNCM06 2000 Blood, CSF cps2J+/sly+/epf+/mrp+ 2 Neck stiffness, deafness (meningitis) 1 (1)
MNCM16 2000 CSF cps2J+/sly+/epf+/mrp+ 2 Neck stiffness (meningitis) 1 (1)
MNCM07 2000 Blood, CSF cps1J+/sly+/epf*/mrpS+ 14 Neck stiffness (meningitis), death 11 (1)
MNCM04 2000 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Neck stiffness, deafness (meningitis) 25 (27)#
MNCM10 2000 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septicemia 25 (27)#
MNCM24 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2¶ Endocarditis 25 (27)#
MNCM26 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Endocarditis, deafness (meningitis) 25 (27)#
MNCM51 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septicemia, diarrhea, death 25 (27)#
MNCM55 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septic shock, death 25 (27)#
LPH4 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septicemia, diarrhea 25 (27)#
LPH12 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septic shock, death 25 (27)#
MNCM43 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp+ 2 Endocarditis 28 (27)
MNCM21 1998 CSF cps2J+/sly+/epf–/mrp– 2 Meningitis 101 (27)#
MNCM25 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Neck stiffness (meningitis), diarrhea, death 102 (27)#
MNCM54 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/–mrp**+ 2 Neck stiffness (meningitis), diarrhea 102 (27)#
MNCM33 2002 Blood, CSF cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Neck stiffness (meningitis) 103 (27)#
LPH3 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Meningitis 103 (27)#
LPH5 2001 Blood cps2J+/sly–/epf–/mrp**+ 2 Septicemia 103 (27)#
MNCM50 2002 Blood cps2J+/sly+/epf–/mrp– 2 Pulmonary edema, death 104 (27)#

*ST, sequence type; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid.
†Isolates with MNCM number and LPH number were isolated from patients at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital and Lamphun Hospital, Thailand, respectively.
‡Virulence-associated gene profiling was done as described previously (10). cps1J and cps2J, serotype 1 (and 14) and 2 (and 1/2) specific genes, respectively, involved in the capsular biosynthesis; sly, suilysin gene; epf, extracellular factor gene; mrp, muraminidase-released protein gene; +, positive; –, negative.
§epf*, an epf variant that produces an ≈3,000-bp fragment by PCR with primers described previously (10); mrp** and mrpS, mrp variants that produce ≈1,800-bp and ≈750-bp fragments, respectively, by PCR with primers described previously (10).
¶Coagglutination reaction using anti-serotype 2 serum was weak.
#ST25, ST101, ST102, ST103, and ST104 belong to the ST27 complex, only with a less-stringent approach that defines an ST complex by sharing of alleles at >5 of the 7 loci.

Main Article

References
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