Abstract
A Streptococcus suis isolate from a German hunter with streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome (STSLS) and four additional zoonotic isolates were genotyped as mrp(+) epf* (variant 1890) sly(+) cps2(+). All five zoonotic German strains were characterized by high multiplication in human blood samples ex vivo, but induction of only low levels of proinflammatory cytokines compared to a Chinese STSLS strain.