First Case of Urinary Tract Infection by Lactococcus garvieae in Korea

• Main Authors: Sang-Hyun Park, Young-Hyeon Lee, Min-Ho Yeo, Kyung-Soo Chang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Korean Society for Clinical Laboratory Science 2021-09-01
• Series: Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• Subjects: lactococcus garvieae; urinary tract infection; zoonosis

The genus Lactococcus is a gram-positive, catalase-negative, non-motile bacterium. It is a facultative anaerobe and can be cultured at 10∼40°C. The genus Lactococcus consists of 16 species, of which Lactococcus garvieae and Lactococcus lactis are known to cause disease in humans. This study reports the first case in which L. garvieae was identified in the urine culture of a 74-year-old woman. The patient confirmed the findings of acute urinary tract infection through blood tests, microbial identification tests, antibiotic susceptibility tests, and computed tomography performed at a hospital. The patient was admitted to the nephrology ward and was treated with IV fluids and erythromycin antibiotics and discharged 5 days later. This is the first case in Korea in which L. garvieae was isolated from the urine of a patient with a urinary tract infection and is expected to be useful in treating patients with L. garvieae infection in the future.