Streptococcus suis serotype 2 capsule in vivo

Abstract

Many Streptococcus suis isolates from porcine endocarditis in slaughterhouses have lost their capsule and are considered avirulent. However, we retrieved capsule-and virulence-recovered S. suis after in vivo passages of a nonencapsulated strain in mice, suggesting that nonencapsulated S. suis are still potentially hazardous for persons in the swine industry.