{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T23:00:45Z","timestamp":1791327645988,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773360000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Disease Prevention and Control Innovation Team of Zhejiang Province","award":["2026JKP-07"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026JKP-07"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that typically causes bacteremia or meningitis in humans, whereas vertebral osteomyelitis with epidural abscess is exceedingly rare and may be missed. We describe a 65-year-old farmer with fever and severe low back pain after long-term bare-handed handling of raw pig lungs. Pre-treatment blood cultures yielded S. suis identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption\/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). After transient improvement on empirical therapy, fever recurred with worsening lumbar pain. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated multilevel thoracolumbar pyogenic spondylitis with an epidural abscess and a sub-ligamentous abscess beneath the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) extending from L2 to L5. Computed tomography-guided lumbar biopsy followed by tissue metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) detected S. suis, providing concordant evidence supporting pathogen involvement at the vertebral focus. The bloodstream isolate (SS-JX2025-01) was serotype 2, sequence type 7 (ST7). It remained susceptible to \u03b2-lactams and glycopeptides but was resistant to macrolide\u2013lincosamide and tetracycline classes, consistent with erm(B), tet(O), tet(40), and ant(6)-Ia detected by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Virulence profiling revealed an epf+\/sly+\/mrp\u2212 pattern with multiple adhesins and immune-evasion factors, whereas canonical 89K pathogenicity island markers were absent. Core-genome phylogeny placed SS-JX2025-01 within the Chinese ST7 lineage associated with previous outbreaks. This biopsy-supported case expands the clinical spectrum of invasive S. suis infection, highlights the value of tissue mNGS as an adjunct for supporting deep-seated foci in zoonotic infections, and underscores the importance of occupational prevention in small-scale farming households.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15030314","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T11:12:25Z","timestamp":1773400345000},"page":"314","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Pyogenic Spondylitis with Epidural Abscess Caused by Streptococcus suis Serotype 2 ST7: Tissue mNGS Confirmation and Whole-Genome Characterization of a Human Isolate"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8277-8809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peiyan","family":"He","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henghui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ping","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6976-3128","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lei","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiaxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory Department, Nanhu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiaxing 314050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1017\/S1466252307001247","article-title":"Streptococcus suis infections in humans: The Chinese experience and the situation in North America","volume":"8","author":"Gottschalk","year":"2007","journal-title":"Anim. 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