Peptostreptococcus is a
genus of
anaerobic,
Gram-positive, non-
spore forming
bacteria. The
cells are small,
spherical, and can occur in short chains, in pairs or individually.
Peptostreptococcus are slow-growing bacteria with increasing resistance to
antimicrobial drugs.
The most frequently identified species of
Peptostreptococcus is
P. magnus.
Pathogenesis
Peptostreptococcus species are
commensal organisms in humans, living predominantly in the mouth, skin,
gastrointestinal, vagina and
urinary tracts, and compose a portion of the bacterial
gut flora. Under
immunosuppressed or
traumatic conditions these organisms can become
pathogenic, as well as
septicemic, harming their host.
Peptostreptococcus can cause brain, liver, breast, and lung
abscesses, as well as generalized
necrotizing soft tissue
infections. They participate in mixed
anaerobic infections, a term which is used to describe infections that are caused by multiple bacteria that do not require or may even be harmed by oxygen.
Peptostreptococcus species are susceptible to
beta-lactam antibiotics.
They are isolated with high frequency from all specimen sources. Anaerobic gram-positive cocci such as
Peptostreptococcus are the second most frequently recovered anaerobes and...
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