First Report of Human Urinary Tract Infection Caused by Lactococcus petauri .

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.