Identification, clinical aspects, susceptibility pattern, and molecular epidemiology of beta-haemolytic group G Streptococcus anginosus group isolates from central Taiwan

No literature is available on the prevalence and clinical aspects of beta-haemolytic group G Streptococcus anginosus group in central Taiwan. In this study, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer sequencing (where necessary) as the gold standard for molecular identification. Twenty-seven S. anginosus group isolates were identified from 273 beta-haemolytic GGS isolates collected from patients in central Taiwan between February 2007 and August 2011. Of the 27 isolates, 22 were S. anginosus and 5 were Streptococcus constellatus. The 3 commercial methods, Rapid ID 32 Strep, API 20 Strep, and Vitek 2 GP card, identified 77.8%, 40.7%, and 37.0% of S. anginosus group isolates, respectively, with acceptable %ID or probability level. All the S. constellatus isolates possessed the lmb gene (encoding laminin-binding protein); however, none of the S. anginosus isolates possessed this gene. All the 27 isolates were susceptible to penicillin. Five S. anginosus group isolates (18.5%) were resistant to erythromycin. The resistance genes, ermB and mefA, were detected in 3 (2 S. anginosus and 1 S. constellatus) and 2 (2 S. anginosus) isolates, respectively. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis showed that most S. anginosus group isolates were genetically diverse. This is the first study to evaluate 3 commercial methods for the identification of beta-haemolytic group G S. anginosus group species, and only the Rapid ID 32 Strep system showed considerable ability. The clinical aspects, susceptibility pattern, and molecular epidemiology of beta-haemolytic group G S. anginosus group isolates from central Taiwan were also first presented.