Streptococcus constellatus-associated pyoderma in a dog

Abstract

This report describes a case of chronic and deep pyodermitis in a 4-year-old male dog with a 3-month skin problems history that had been treated unsuccessfully with fluoroquinolone therapy, prescribed by a private medical veterinary practice, without an early diagnosis. Microbiological examination and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed in our laboratory (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and a diagnosis of Streptococcus constellatusassociated pyoderma in the dog was made. A new antimicrobial treatment, with tetracyclines, was designed after the definitive diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing performed by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The dog remained free of clinical illness at completion of therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a canine pyoderma caused by S. constellatus, a commensal organism which may also cause pyogenic infections. Furthermore, this study confirms that a fluoroquinolone represents a poor empirical choice for initial therapy of canine pyoderma.

Common superficial and deep cutaneous bacterial infections in domestic animals: A review

“…are the major pathogens associated with folliculitis, furunculosis, and deep pyoderma. However, other types of bacteria, such as Streptococcus spp., 23 Proteus spp., Pseudomonas spp., E. coli , 38 Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., and Pasteurella multocida , 56 have also been isolated. Mixed bacterial infections are common.…”

Infectious crystalline keratopathy in dogs and cats: clinical, in vivo confocal microscopic, histopathologic, and microbiologic features of eight cases

“…Viridans group streptococci are a large and diverse group of commensal bacteria that are abundant in various human and animal microfloras (e.g., oropharyngeal, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary) and are generally considered infrequent pathogens of low virulence . In dogs, there are uncommon descriptions of nonocular infections with viridans streptococci and rare reports of the isolation of unidentified viridans Streptococcus species from the conjunctiva of clinically normal dogs and dogs with ulcerative keratitis . The etiological significance of the viridans streptococci in the reported dogs with keratitis was not established or clear in the prior reports .…”