First Report of Human Urinary Tract Infection Caused by Lactococcus petauri

Abstract

Lactococcus petauri is a recently described species of the genus Lactococcus. It was reported as an etiological agent of piscine lactococcosis together with Lactococcus garvieae. L. garvieae was already described as an opportunistic pathogen in human infections, with a potential zoonotic role. This paper represents the first report of a human urinary tract infection caused by L. petauri. A 91-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department for a femur fracture consequent to a domestic accident. The fracture was reduced by surgery and a catheterized specimen urine culture revealed a high bacterial load sustained by Gram-positive cocci, identified by Vitek 2 compact as L. garvieae, and subsequently as L. petauri through Internal Transcribed spacer 16S-23S r-RNA amplification. The number of L. petauri infections in humans is expected to rise in the near future mainly due to diagnostic improvement. A dedicated survey on L. garvieae and L. petauri infections in humans should be performed to better understand their role as pathogens and as zoonotic agents.