Pathogenicity of anaerobic gram-positive cocci

The pathogenicity of 20 strains of facultative or anaerobic gram-positive cocci (AGPC) was investigated by injecting them alone or mixed with other flora into mice, utilizing the subcutaneous abscess model. Abscesses induced by a mixture of two organisms were uniformly larger than those induced by single organisms. The relationships among seven AGPC strains, eight aerobes, and two Bacteroides spp. were determined by treating the infected animals with antibiotics and observing the effect of therapy directed against one or both organisms present in the abscess. A total of 70 different combinations were tested. As judged by their responses to antimicrobial therapy, facultative cocci or AGPC were relatively more important than the other species in 6 combinations, equally important in 35 combinations, and less important in 29 combinations. The AGPC most often found to be equal to or more important than the other bacteria were Peptococcus magnus, Streptococcus constellatus, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius. Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were frequently found to be of more importance than the AGPC.