Streptococcus spp
Introduction
Classification
Taxonomy
- Kingdom: bacteria.
- Phylum: firmicutes.
- Class: bacilli.
- Order: lactobacillales.
- Family: streptococcaceae.
- Genus: streptococcus.
Etymology
- Streptococcus grow in chains or pairs. The name comes from the Greek word Streptós - “twisted, pliant”, (like a chain) and is couple with the modern Latin coccus - spherical bacterium, derived from the Greek word for berry, 'Kokkos'.
Distribution
- Distributed worldwide.
- Found on the skin, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory and lower urogenital tract and within the digestive system.
- Streptococcus spp do not survive well outside the host, although recent studies have indicated that when these organisms are protected within a biofilm, the survival rate is extended and the treatment tends to be less effective.
Significance
- Bovine streptococcal mastitis:
- S. agalactiae (can cause persistent infection in the milk duct leading to reoccuring acute mastitis Mastitis: Streptococcus agalactiae).
- S. dysgalactiae (found in buccal cavity, skin and genitalia. Can cause acute mastitis. Mastitis: Streptococcus dysgalactiae
- S. uberis (major cause of clinical mastitis Mastitis: Streptococcus uberis -without systemic signs. Normally found on skin, tonsils and vagina).
- Other species reported as pathogenic in cattle include:
- S. bovis complex (found in the digestive system and common in cattle feces. Can cause septicemia in calves Neonatal septicemia and meningitis).
- S. pyogenes (found in the udder and can cause mastitis).
- S. zooepidemicus Streptococcus zooepidemicus (found in the udder and can cause mastitis).
- S. canis (normally found in dogs and cats, but has been described in dairy cattle mastitis with the source likely to have been infection from cats or dogs).
- S. suis (found in the udder and can cause mastitis).
- Most strains of Streptococcus which infect cattle are not a concern to public health.
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Resting Forms
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Clinical Effects
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Diagnosis
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Further Reading
Publications
Refereed Papers
- Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
- Clarke L L, Fathke R L, Sanchez S & Stanton J B (2016) Streptococcus bovis/S. equinus complex septicemia in a group of calves following intramuscular vaccination. J Vet Diagn Invest 28 (4), 423-8 PubMed.
- Shome B R, Bhuvana M, Mitra S D et al (2012) Molecular characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus uberis isolates from bovine milk. Trop Anim Health Prod 44 (8), 1981-92 PubMed.
- Whist A C, Østerås O & Sølverød L (2007) Streptococcus dysgalactiae isolates at calving and lactation performance within the same lactation. J Dairy Sci 90 (2), 766-78 PubMed.
- Tikofsky L L & Zadoks R N (2005) Cross-infection between cats and cows: origin and control of Streptococcus canis mastitis in a dairy herd. J Dairy Sci 88 (8), 2707-13 PubMed.
- Zadoks R N, Gillespie B E, Barkema H W, Sampimon O C, Oliver S P & Schukken Y H (2003) Clinical, epidemiological and molecular characteristics of Streptococcus uberis infections in dairy herds. Epidemiol Infect 130 (2), 335-49 PubMed.
- Zadoks R N, Allore H G, Barkema H W, Sampimon O C, Wellenberg G J, Gröhn Y T & Schukkent Y H (2001) Cow- and quarter-level risk factors for Streptococcus uberis and Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. J Dairy Sci 84 (12), 2649-63 PubMed.
- Phuektes P, Mansell P D, Dyson R S, Hooper N D, Dick J S & Browning G F (2001) Molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus uberis isolates from dairy cows with mastitis. J Clin Microbiol 39 (4), 1460-6.
- Bramley A J (1982) Sources of Streptococcus uberis in the dairy herd. I. Isolation from bovine faces and from straw bedding of cattle. J Dairy Res 49 (3), 369-73.