Differences between Staphylococcus and Streptococcus

 

Differences between Staphylococcus and Streptococcus

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S.N.	Character	Staphylococcus	Streptococcus
1.	Cellular Arrangement	Spherical cells in clusters (grape like clusters).	Spherical or ovoid cells in chains or pairs.
2.	Fission/Division	Irregular division in all three planes.	Division in one linear direction.
3.	Catalase Test	Positive (Presence of catalase enzyme)	Negative
4.	Halotolerance	Halotolerant. Can tolerate upto 8% salt concentration.	Inhibited by high concentration of salt.
5.	Capnophile	No	Yes
6.	Common Culture Media Used	Mannitol Salt Agar Nutrient Agar	Blood Agar
7.	Growth on Ordinary Culture Media	Possible	Not possible
8.	Nutritional requirement	Simple	Complex (fastidious organism)
9.	Colony morphology	2-3 mm in diameter, circular, opaque golden yellow colonies  (Staphylococcus aureus)	b-haemolysis ,1 mm, circular, tiny needle tip colonies (Streptococcus pyogenes)
10.	Hemolysis	No hemolysis or beta hemolysis.	Either alpha,or beta or gamma hemolysis.
11.	Species Number	About 40 staphylococcal species have been identified so far.	About 50 Streptococcal species  have been identified so far.
12.	Differentiation into groups	By means of coagulase test.	By means of hemolysis pattern in Blood Agar and group specific cell wall polysaccharide (Lancefield grouping).
13.	Species Differentiation	– Coagulase test – Novobiocin sensitivity test – Biochemical tests	– Type of hemolysis – Cell wall carbohydrate group     (A, B, C, etc) – Bile Solubility Test – CAMPT Test – Optochin Sensitivity Test
14.	Normal Flora	Staphylococci are found mostly on the skin as commensals.	Mucosal membrane of human and animals. Mostly found in the oral cavity and respiratory tract.
15.	Pathogens	Most of the Staphylococcal species are non-pathogens.	Streptococcus cause many diseases.
16.	Pathogenic Species	Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, etc.	Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus  pneumoniae, etc.
17.	Virulence Factors	Polysaccharide capsule, slime layer, teicholic acid, lipoteicholic acid, adhesive proteins, clumping factor, protein A, exoenzymes ( DNase, hyalurinidase, phosphatase, lipase, exocoagulase, fibrinolysin), enterotoxin, exfoliative toxin, cytotoxins(a-haemolysin b- haemolysin d- haemolysin g-haemolysin, Leukocidin)	Lipoteicholic acid, F-protein, capsule, exotoxin, streptolysin S and O (haemolysin), Exoenzymes (hyaluronidase ,DNase, streptokinase)
18.	Diseases caused	Food poisoning,  bacterial conjunctivitis, skin diseases, community-acquired meningitis, Pneumonia, Surgical Site Infection, Wound infection,  impetigo, cellulitis, toxic shock syndrome, osteomyelitis and endocarditis.	Strep throat, Scarlet fever, Impetigo, Toxic shock syndrome, Cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease), sinusitis, blood infections, pneumonia and meningitis in newborns.
19.	Types of Symptoms	The symptoms of the Staphylococcal infections can include fever, chills, low blood pressure and red, swollen, tender pimple-like bumps.	The symptoms of a Streptococcal infection can include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, rash, red and weeping skin sores, confusion, and dizziness.
20.	Treatment options	Antibiotics like penicillin or methicillin if resistant. Vancomycin if MRSA.	Penicillin / penicillin V amoxicillin