Isolation of Streptococcus tigurinus - a novel member of Streptococcus mitis group from a case of periodontitis.

Streptococcus tigurinus is a new member of the Streptococcus viridians group and is closely related to Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae, Streptococcus oralis, and Streptococcus infantis. The type strain AZ_3a(T) of S. tigurinus was originally isolated from a patient with infective endocarditis. Accurate identification of S. tigurinus is facilitated only by newer molecular methods like 16S rRNA gene analysis. During the course of study on bacteraemia and infective endocarditis with reference to periodontitis and viridians group of streptococci, a strain of S. tigurinus isolated from subgingival plaque of a patient with periodontitis identified by 16S rRNA gene analysis, which was originally identified as Streptococcus pluranimalium by Vitek 2. Confirmation by 16S rRNA gene analysis showed 99.39% similarity (1476/1485 bp) with S. tigurinus AZ_3a(T) (AORU01000002). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of isolation of S. tigurinus from the oral cavity of a periodontitis patient.

Post-filarial cutaneous aspergillosis.

BACKGROUND: Aspergillus species are widely distributed in nature; however, cutaneous infections due to A. terreus are particularly rare. In this report, we describe a very uncommon case of primary cutaneous aspergillosis presenting as cauliflower-like skin lesions caused by A. terreus in a patient with preexisting bilateral filarial elephantiasis of the legs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Histopathological examination of the lesions revealed narrow, septate, branching, acute-angled hyphae with delicate chitinous walls and multinucleated giant cells in the dermis. RESULTS: The fungal isolate was identified as A. terreus using standard laboratory procedures. CONCLUSION: Here we report an extremely rare and unusual manifestation of primary cutaneous aspergillosis.