Systemic Streptococcus agalactiae infection with meningo-ventriculitis in a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)

Abstract

A captive male Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth died without any obvious clinical signs. At necropsy, multifocal ulceration at the lumbar and perianal skin, mitral valve vegetation, and multifocal hemorrhage in the leptomeninges were observed. Histopathologically, suppurative meningo-ventriculitis, dermatitis, and endocarditis characterized by severe neutrophilic infiltration were observed. Gram-positive cocci arranged in pairs or chains were present in these inflammatory lesions. Streptococcus agalactiae gene was detected in the skin, heart, and brain tissues by PCR and sequence analysis. These findings may indicate that S. agalactiae primarily infected the skin and then caused septicemia resulting in endocarditis and meningo-ventriculitis. The present case suggests that S. agalactiae infection can cause severe meningo-ventriculitis in two-toed sloth without any specific clinical signs.