Occupational exposure to swine is an independent risk factor for S. suis infection(4, 8). In addition to contact transmission(8), airborne transmission of S. suis has been identified(14). Although it was not known whether the patient’s pigs were infected by S. suis, it may be supposed that the patient in this article was infected by S. suis though pigs based on her history of rearing pigs and cerebrospinal fluid culture results. Furthermore, the preparation and consumption of pork, especially if skin injuries occur while handling pigs and pork, may also lead to S. suis infection(4, 8). Thus, occupational protection is necessary for people who work on pig farms and in pig slaughterhouses.
Consistent with previous reports, the patient’s leukocyte counts in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in this article were higher than normal (2, 3, 5, 7). In line with previous studies, the patient in this article was diagnosed definitely based on cerebrospinal fluid culture(5, 7). In addition, blood culture is also an effective method of definitely diagnosing S. suis infection (2, 3). If the patient has a history of contact with pigs or pork, high leukocyte counts in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid may be treated as signs of S. suis infection. In addition, blood culture and cerebrospinal fluid culture can be used to definitely diagnose S. suis infection(8). Meningitis, which was observed in the patient in this report, is the most common clinical syndrome caused by human S. suis infection(4, 8). In addition, sepsis, arthritis, endocarditis and endophthalmitis are clinical syndromes resulting fron human S. suis infection(4, 8). Broad-spectrum antimicrobials have been suggested as treatment for human S. suis infection(4). However, the antibiotic susceptibility testing results of human infections with S. suis differed from each other in previous studies(2, 7). Moreover, antibiotic resistance has been found strains of S. suis isolated from humans(4, 6). Thus, antibiotic susceptibility testing is necessary for each patient infected with S. suis to enable the provision of precise treatment.
Although human S. suis infection is generally sporadic in China, its financial burden is disastrous for the patients’ families. The cost per human S. suis infection is greater than the annual per capita family income(11). Patients with S. suis infections are often the main financial supporters of their families(11). Human S. suis infections may result in neurologic sequelae, hearing loss and even death(5, 6, 8–10), which may lead to the partial or complete loss of the family income. Compounding this issue is the fact that few people are aware of human S. suis infections or the need to take preventive measures. This situation may contribute to the occurrence of S. suis infections. Therefore, surveillance and health education about human S. suis infections are still needed.
In this article, we report one case of human S. suis infection. Although human S. suis infection is sporadic in China, the burdens imposed on patients’ families and society highlight the need for health education, prevention and surveillance effort.