The biochemical characteristics of A. pyogenes and APL organisms using the API 20 Strep kit are given in Table 1. No major differences were observed between A. pyogenes and APLs in biochemical tests, such as hippurate and esculin hydrolysis; alkaline phosphatase, β-galactosidase, and leucine aminopeptidase activities; and fermentations of ribose, lactose, starch, and glycogen. None of the A. pyogenes isolates fermented mannitol and raffinose, whereas, all APL isolates fermented either mannitol or raffinose and rarely both substrates. Certain APL isolates also fermented arabinose, sorbitol, and inulin, which were not fermented by any of the A. pyogenes isolates. Ability to ferment trehalose was higher among APL isolates than A. pyogenes isolates.