Streptococcus pyogenes

General Information

• Bacteria: (LibreTexts Biology)

  •  prokaryotic

  • unicellular

  •  typically small in size

  • producer

  • reproduce asexually

  • do not have membrane-bound organelles. 

• Streptococci are split into three groups: beta-hemolytic, a hemolytic, and gamma-hemolytic. (Kanwal et al. 2022)

  • Beta-hemolytic streptococci are distinguished as either: (Kanwal et al. 2022)

    •  group A streptococci (Streptococcus pyogenes) 

    • group B sterptococci (Streptococcus agalactiae) 

• Source of food (Pancholi et al. 2016)

  • glucose; which it needs to grow 

Taxonomy 

• Kingdom: Bacteria 

• Subkingdom: Posibacteria 

  • Phylum: Firmicutes 

    • Class: Bacilli 

      • Order: Lactobacillales 

        • Family: Streptococcaceae 

          • Genus: Streptococcus 

            • Species: Streptococcus pyogenes (Rosenbach, 1884) 

Background 

• Tonsillopharyngitis is when both the tonsils and throat are infected and inflamed from tonsillitis and pharyngitis. (John Hopkins Medicine) 

• Symptoms of tonsillopharyngitis include (John Hopkins Medicine)

  • sore throat 

  • fever 

  • headache 

  • loss in appetite 

  • nausea 

  • painful swelling 

  • redness or drainage in the throat 

• Symptoms may start fast or slow (John Hopkins Medicine)

• Can be treated with antibiotics if caused by bacteria. (John Hopkins Medicine)

Experiment

• Examination of 64 children between ages 1 and 13 years old (Menschner et al. 2020)

• All children were diagnosed with GAS tonsillopharyngitis (Menschner et al. 2020)

• 11 of the 64 children had reoccurring GAS tonsillopharyngitis (Menschner et al. 2020)

Conclusion

• The researchers saw the survival rate of GAS increased in the 11 isolate patients who had repeated cases of tonsillopharyngitis.  (Menschner et al. 2020) 

• This study proves that Group A Streptococcus infection can survive longer on drier surfaces compared to wet ones. (Menschner et al. 2020) 

• Importance: The importance of this study is that the long-term survival rate of GAS in desiccated conditions indicates that it can also survive on surfaces which could cause infection and reinfection of tonsillopharyngitis. (Menschner et al. 2020) 

• Future studies could be done on a different age range of participants as well as having more isolates. Additionally, researchers could examine how long GAS can survive on desiccated surfaces to determine how long these surfaces could contribute to infection or reinfection. 

References

• Menschner, L., Falke, U., Konrad, P.,Teopfner, N., Berner, R. (2020). Survival of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is Enhanced Under Desiccated Culture Conditions. Current Microbiol 77: 1518-1524.

• Rosenbach. (1884). Streptococcus pyogenes. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved February 4, 2023 at https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=966482#null 

• Group A Streptococcal Infections. Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Retrieved February 4, 2023 at https://dhs.wisconsin.gov/invasive- bacteria/gas.htm#:~:text=Group%20A%20streptococcus%20(group%20A,bacteria%20can%20sometimes%20cause%20infection.

• 8.6A: Common Bacterial Traits. LibreTexts Biology. Retrieved February 7, 2023 at https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Microbiology_(Boundless)/08%3A_Microbial_Evolution_Phylogeny_and_Divers ity/8.06%3A_Bacterial_Diversity/8.6A%3A_Common_Bacterial_Traits

• Kanwal, S. & Vaitla, P. (2022.) Streptococcus Pyogenes. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved January 30, 2023, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554528/

• Pancholi, V. & Caparon, M. (2016.) Streptococcus pyogenes: Basic Biology to Clinical Manifestations. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved February 13, 2023, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK333417/#:~:text=phosphotransferase%20system%20(PTS)-,S.,pyogenes%20growth. 

• Pharyngitis and Tonsillitis. John Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved February 13, 2023 at https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/pharyngitis-and- tonsillitis#:~:text=If%20the%20tonsils%20are%20affected,have%20both%2C%20it's%20called%20pharyngotonsillitis.