Pharyngotonsillitis due to Arcanobacterium haemolyticum in northern Israel.

BACKGROUND: Arcanobacterium haemolyticum is a well-recognized but uncommon cause of pharyngitis and skin rash in adolescents and young adults. To date, no data regarding its frequency in Israel have been published.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the frequency of A. haemolyticum in throat cultures in a northern Israeli population and to estimate the clinical significance of this pathogen in patients with sore throat.

METHODS: We examined suspected colonies for A haemolyticum by gram stain, catalase test and reverse CAMP test in 518 throat cultures sent to the microbiologic laboratory of HaEmek Medical Center.

RESULTS: Of the throat cultures tested, A. haemolyticum was recovered from one patient (0.2%). In contrast, group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes) was recovered from 135 patients (26%).

CONCLUSION: A hemolyticum is an uncommon pathogen implicated in acute pharyngitis, therefore routine screening in throat swabs is not required.