11 - PART Strep Staph.
11 - PART Strep Staph.
11 - PART Strep Staph.
These cocci grow well on blood agar, although enrichment of media with glucose
and serum may be necessary.
Typical haemoly c reac ons are produced on blood agar
cellulitis •
Impe go
• post-streptococcal infection, manifesting as rheumatic fever, is
caused by immunological cross-reaction between bacterial antigen
and human heart tissue, and acute glomerulonephritis is caused by
immune complexes bound to glomeruli
Acute glomerulonephritis
Cross reaction between streptococci and
kidney tissues
20
This species is increasingly recognized as a
human pathogen, especially as a cause of
neonatal meningitis and sepsis.
I
Viridans Group Streptococci
( No Lancefield antigen classification. Members
include Streptococcus salivarius, S. sanguis, S. mitis,
S. intermedius, S. mutans, and others.)
Habitat and transmission
Streptococci make up a large propor on of the resident oral
flora.
It is known that roughly one-quarter of the total cul vable
flora from supragingival and gingival plaque and half of the
isolates from the tongue and saliva are streptococci. They are
ver cally transmi ed from mother to child.
Infec ve endocardi s caused by these organisms (loosely
termed viridans streptococci) is generally a result of their
entry into the blood stream during intraoral surgical
procedures (e.g. tooth extrac on), and some mes even
during tooth-brushing
Culture and iden fica on
Gram-posi ve cocci in chains; α-haemoly c;
catalasenega ve. Growth not inhibited by bile
or optochin ,in contrast to pneumococci.
Commercially available kits are highly useful in
laboratory iden fica on of these organisms
Pathogenicity
• The mutans group of streptococci are the major agents of
dental caries (but in the absence of predisposing factors,
such as sucrose, they cannot cause caries).
Treatment
Staphylococcus epidermidis exhibits resistance to a
number of drugs (multiresistance), including penicillin
and methicillin. It is sensitive to vancomycin
Staphylococcus saprophyticus