Original Article Streptococcus Bovis Fecal Carriage is not Associated with an Increased Risk of

Streptococcus bovis, part of the normal flora ofhuman alimentary tract, is widely acknowledged as a causative agent of infective endocarditis and is as-sociated with colorectal cancer once septicemia pre-sents.1-7 All patients with S. bovis bacteremia are advocated to have their colon and heart fully exam-ined to exclude GI tract malignancies and valvular vegetations.6 S. bovis overgrowth, breakdown of mucosal integration as an entry into circulation system and subsequent bacterial translocation were hypothe-sized mechanisms for S. bovis pathogenesis.8 It re-mains inconclusive whether S. bovis plays a role of carcinogenesis or merely a subsequent phenomenon of colorectal neoplasms. The fecal carriage rate of S. bovis among patients with preneoplastic or neoplastic colonic lesions was reported higher than that of nor