‘Harmless’ bacteria lurking in nearly all Americans triggered cascade of life-threatening infections… leaving me blind and close to death
A normally harmless bacteria that lurks on the skin of nearly every American left one man fighting for his life after it spread to his bloodstream.
Group G Streptococcus, or GGS, is typically considered to be safe and a natural part of the human microbiome. But in recent years, doctors have started to sound the alarm over the organism as it is being linked to more severe infections.
In a new case report from Japan, doctors described how an unidentified 53-year-old man developed meningitis, a dangerous inflammation of the membranes around the brain, heart inflammation and blindness in his left eye after he was infected with the bacteria.
The individual was hospitalized for 66 days. Just two days after he was hospitalized, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he needed to be intubated for five days.
He was eventually treated with a last-resort antibiotic, reserved for the most severe infections, before being discharged. Doctors said his case underscores the growing dangers posed by the bacteria.
Physicians at St Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, who treated the man, wrote: ‘This case underscores the potential for GGS to cause severe, multisystem invasive disease. It highlights the importance of early recognition and comprehensive management [of the condition].’
GGS normally lives harmlessly on the skin, in the gut, throat or female genital tract and is normally linked to mild infections such as cellulitis, an infection of the skin, and pharyngitis, a sore throat.
But reports of life-threatening infections have ‘substantially increased’ in recent years. Experts are not sure whether this is due to the bacteria becoming more virulent or the declining health of the human population.
The patient was rushed to the hospital via ambulance, admitted for a presumed bacterial infection in the bloodstream and given antibiotics (stock image)
Group G Streptococcus, or GGS, is typically considered to be safe and a natural part of the human microbiome. Now, however, they are being linked to more severe infections (stock )
In the latest case, revealed in the American Journal of Case Reports, doctors said the man was admitted to the hospital after suffering from a fever of 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly decreased consciousness and an infection in his left eye for two days.
He was also suffering from chills, joint pain and difficulty moving.
The man was a former smoker, and had previously consumed 20 packs of cigarettes a year, or one cigarette a day, from the ages of 20 to 40 years old.
He had also undergone an operation 30 years earlier to tighten the main artery located above his heart, which had become swollen, raising the risk that blood could flow backwards.
In the operation, doctors had also fitted a prosthetic valve into the aorta, replacing the original, and in order to prevent blood backflow.
The patient was rushed to the hospital via ambulance, admitted for a presumed bacterial infection in the bloodstream and given antibiotics.
Two days later, however, the man’s consciousness declined dramatically to the point where he appeared listless but could be aroused when spoken to.
He was immediately transferred to the intensive care unit, intubated, and given vancomycin, a last-resort antibiotic that doctors keep in reserve and only use to treat the most severe infections.
The above image shows the man’s left eye following the infection. He did not recover his sight in this eye. The yellow arrow is pointing to a corneal edema, a swelling of the cornea which is the clear part of the eye. The red arrow is pointing to ciliary injection, or a ring of redness around the eye
The above image shows the man’s body on scans from above his head, image A, from the side, image B, and from the back, image C. The red arrow indicates the infection in the aortic valve
At this time, doctors ordered blood cultures that revealed he was infected with GGS. They also detected meningitis and that he was suffering from prosthetic valve endocarditis, inflammation around the valve fitted to the aorta following the operation.
This infection can be fatal if it causes the valve to become damaged or blocked, causing blood backflow into the heart or preventing it from pumping effectively.
Tests also showed that his eye infection had spread to the other eye.
After five days in the unit, his condition improved and his consciousness returned to normal. He was taken off the ventilator and moved to the hospital’s main unit.
He was also switched to a milder antibiotic.
Doctors became concerned about his condition again on day eight and again on day 24 after his admission after blood tests showed rising inflammation levels.
This led them to again give the patient vancomycin. After receiving the drug for a week, his condition improved each time.
He was kept in the hospital for a total of 66 days while his condition cleared before being discharged.
Upon discharge, his brain function had returned to normal. He was, however, permanently blind in his left eye from complications due to the infection.
It was not clear how GGS bacteria spread to his bloodstream, but doctors noted that he had poor oral hygiene and said it was possible that the bacteria had entered the blood via his mouth.
They said: ‘This case highlights a rare presentation of GGS infection manifesting concurrently as infective endocarditis [heart inflammation], endogenous endophthalmitis [eye infection], and bacterial meningitis.
‘Early recognition and prompt [eye] intervention proved crucial in achieving visual recovery despite the generally poor prognosis associated with GGS endophthalmitis.
‘This case underscores the importance of clinical vigilance, timely diagnosis, and multidisciplinary management in severe invasive GGS infections.’
