1. Transmission ofStreptococcus equiSubspecieszooepidemicusInfection from Horses to Humans
- Author
-
Tiina Autio, Sinikka Pelkonen, Jari Karhukorpi, Tia Väisänen, Päivi Suomala, Jaana Pentikäinen, Tamara Tuuminen, Sakari Vuorinen, Susanne B. Lindahl, and Irma Koivula
- Subjects
Male ,Microbiology (medical) ,040301 veterinary sciences ,Epidemiology ,animal diseases ,abscess ,lcsh:Medicine ,Biology ,lcsh:Infectious and parasitic diseases ,law.invention ,sepsis ,0403 veterinary science ,03 medical and health sciences ,law ,Streptococcal Infections ,Animals ,Humans ,Streptococcus equi ,lcsh:RC109-216 ,Horses ,Animal Husbandry ,bacteria ,septic arthritis ,β-hemolytic streptococcus ,Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus ,equine ,0303 health sciences ,030306 microbiology ,lcsh:R ,meningitis ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Middle Aged ,zoonosis ,bacterial infections and mycoses ,Virology ,zoonoses ,3. Good health ,Infectious Diseases ,Transmission (mechanics) ,Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ,streptococci ,Genes, Bacterial ,Synopsis ,Horse Diseases ,Multilocus Sequence Typing - Abstract
Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) is a zoonotic pathogen for persons in contact with horses. In horses, S. zooepidemicus is an opportunistic pathogen, but human infections associated with S. zooepidemicus are often severe. Within 6 months in 2011, 3 unrelated cases of severe, disseminated S. zooepidemicus infection occurred in men working with horses in eastern Finland. To clarify the pathogen’s epidemiology, we describe the clinical features of the infection in 3 patients and compare the S. zooepidemicus isolates from the human cases with S. zooepidemicus isolates from horses. The isolates were analyzed by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, and sequencing of the szP gene. Molecular typing methods showed that human and equine isolates were identical or closely related. These results emphasize that S. zooepidemicus transmitted from horses can lead to severe infections in humans. As leisure and professional equine sports continue to grow, this infection should be recognized as an emerging zoonosis.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF