Abstract

TORANO PERAZA, Gilda; ARIAS PORTALES, Itciar; CASTILLO MARSHALL, Ariadna  and  BROSSARD ALEJO, Gardenia. First case of meningitis from Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in Cuba. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2015, vol.41, n.1, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0864-3466.

Meningitis in human beings is possibly the rarest clinical illness caused by Group C Streptococcus infection. This bacterium is regarded as an animal pathogen, particularly echinus. The objective of this paper was to present a fatal meningitis case in Cuba caused by Streptoccus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (Streptococcus ß-hemolytic C). It was a Black 50 years-old male immunocompetent patient, who did not work directly with animals but used to frequently ride horses in a family farm where there were other animals. The patient lived in Santiago de Cuba province and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the regional hospital on May, 2014. At the time of hospitalization, he presented with stiff neck, headache, continuous fever of 39.5 oC for four days, incoherent speech, difficulties to walk, obnubilation and vomiting. This clinical picture and the results of the cerebrospinal fluid analysis yielded a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. He received the corresponding treatment. However, the patient progressed into death just seven hours after his hospitalization. It was suggested that the patient was infected from some contact with any animal. This paper is the first record of meningitis from Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in Cuba and contributes to support the thesis that this is an emerging zoonosis and it is necessary to have it under control nationwide.

Keywords : Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus; bacterial meningitis; Cuba.

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