Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report

Abstract Background Pneumococci normally reside in the nasopharynx, and when individuals are in close contact with each other such as in a community or a family setting, it is transmitted from carriers and sometimes results in pneumonia. Case presentation Case 1: The patient was a 55-year-old woman...

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Main Authors: Ken Goda, Tsuneaki Kenzaka, Bin Chang, Hozuka Akita
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2018-12-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-018-3588-5
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author Ken Goda
Tsuneaki Kenzaka
Bin Chang
Hozuka Akita
author_facet Ken Goda
Tsuneaki Kenzaka
Bin Chang
Hozuka Akita
author_sort Ken Goda
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Pneumococci normally reside in the nasopharynx, and when individuals are in close contact with each other such as in a community or a family setting, it is transmitted from carriers and sometimes results in pneumonia. Case presentation Case 1: The patient was a 55-year-old woman who visited the hospital complaining of fever and headache. Lumbar pain occurred on hospital day 2, and purulent spondylitis was diagnosed using lumbar MRI. Blood culture results were positive for pneumococcus. Case 2: The patient was a 60-year-old male, and the husband of the woman in the Case 1. Fever and lumbar pain occurred on the same day similar to Case 1. Inpatient treatment was provided for pneumococcal bacteremia. Although no abnormalities were observed on the lumbar MRI scan taken on hospital day 2, purulent spondylitis was diagnosed by an MRI taken on hospital day 9. Both patients received appropriate antimicrobial treatment. When bacterial strain analysis was performed on samples from Cases 1 and 2, we noted that the capsule serotype was 12F, the drug sensitivity was similar, and the sequence typing matched completely, indicating that the causative bacteria for both cases were identical. Conclusions Pneumococcal bacteremia and purulent spondylitis can occur in different members of a family simultaneously. Pneumococcal infection can transmit between two close family members; hence, whenever a close family member of an individual who has already been infected with pneumococcal infection, develops fever, the possibility of transmission must be considered.
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spelling doaj.art-f1359beba8e04abba87b882138f6388e2022-12-22T03:49:03ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342018-12-011811510.1186/s12879-018-3588-5Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case reportKen Goda0Tsuneaki Kenzaka1Bin Chang2Hozuka Akita3Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara HospitalDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara HospitalDepartment of Bacteriology I, National Institute of Infectious DiseasesDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara HospitalAbstract Background Pneumococci normally reside in the nasopharynx, and when individuals are in close contact with each other such as in a community or a family setting, it is transmitted from carriers and sometimes results in pneumonia. Case presentation Case 1: The patient was a 55-year-old woman who visited the hospital complaining of fever and headache. Lumbar pain occurred on hospital day 2, and purulent spondylitis was diagnosed using lumbar MRI. Blood culture results were positive for pneumococcus. Case 2: The patient was a 60-year-old male, and the husband of the woman in the Case 1. Fever and lumbar pain occurred on the same day similar to Case 1. Inpatient treatment was provided for pneumococcal bacteremia. Although no abnormalities were observed on the lumbar MRI scan taken on hospital day 2, purulent spondylitis was diagnosed by an MRI taken on hospital day 9. Both patients received appropriate antimicrobial treatment. When bacterial strain analysis was performed on samples from Cases 1 and 2, we noted that the capsule serotype was 12F, the drug sensitivity was similar, and the sequence typing matched completely, indicating that the causative bacteria for both cases were identical. Conclusions Pneumococcal bacteremia and purulent spondylitis can occur in different members of a family simultaneously. Pneumococcal infection can transmit between two close family members; hence, whenever a close family member of an individual who has already been infected with pneumococcal infection, develops fever, the possibility of transmission must be considered.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-018-3588-5Pneumococcal infectionFeverSpondylitisBacteremia
spellingShingle Ken Goda
Tsuneaki Kenzaka
Bin Chang
Hozuka Akita
Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
BMC Infectious Diseases
Pneumococcal infection
Fever
Spondylitis
Bacteremia
title Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
title_full Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
title_fullStr Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
title_short Two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household: a case report
title_sort two cases of pneumococcal spondylitis in the same household a case report
topic Pneumococcal infection
Fever
Spondylitis
Bacteremia
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-018-3588-5
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AT tsuneakikenzaka twocasesofpneumococcalspondylitisinthesamehouseholdacasereport
AT binchang twocasesofpneumococcalspondylitisinthesamehouseholdacasereport
AT hozukaakita twocasesofpneumococcalspondylitisinthesamehouseholdacasereport