Group L streptococci as the cause of bacteraemia and endocarditis. A case report.

A beta-haemolytic streptococcus was isolated from multiple blood cultures in a 56-year-old woman suffering from thrombophlebitis in a leg and from a 42-year-old man with endocarditis. Both strains were identified as group L streptococci by precipitation testing. Initially they were identified as group A streptococci on the basis of cultural characteristics, bacitracin sensitivity and fluorescent staining with an anti-group A conjugate. The two cases are an addition to the few existing reports on proved infection in humans by group L streptococci.