Abstract
serotypes among children in Lithuania are limited. A prospective study was carried out from February 2012 to March 2013 to evaluate the circulation of SPn serotypes among young children in five cities of Lithuania before the introduction of universal vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). A total of 900 children under six years of age who presented to primary care centres or a hospital emergency department with acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) were enrolled in the study. The SPn colonisation rate was40.8% (367/900), with a peak at two and three years old(48.8% and 45.4%, respectively). Of the 367 SPn isolates, the most common serotypes were 6B (15.8%,n = 58), 19F (13.9%, n = 51), 23F (13.9%, n = 51), 15(10.1%, n = 37), 14 (9.5%, n = 35), 6A (9.3%, n= 34),11 (4.6%, n = 17), 3 (3.0%, n = 11) and 18C (3.0%, n =11); less frequent were 23 (non-23F) (2.7%, n = 10), 19A(2.2%, n = 8) and 9V (1.6%, n = 6). Serotypes 6A and 11 were more common in children under two years-old;18C was found only in children aged two to five years.The serotypes found might be an important predictor of the likely effectiveness of the PCVs currently available in Lithuania
Highlights
Streptococcus pneumoniae (SPn) is one of the major bacterial pathogens colonising the nasopharynx, which can cause a wide spectrum of illnesses from upper respiratory tract infection (RTI) to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), or the infection can be asymptomatic [1]
Pneumococcal disease is preceded by asymptomatic colonisation: the colonisation rate is especially high in children under six years of age [1,3]
During the one-year study period, 908 children were examined for SPn nasopharyngeal carriage
Summary
Streptococcus pneumoniae (SPn) is one of the major bacterial pathogens colonising the nasopharynx, which can cause a wide spectrum of illnesses from upper respiratory tract infection (RTI) to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), or the infection can be asymptomatic [1]. Pneumococcal disease is preceded by asymptomatic colonisation: the colonisation rate is especially high in children under six years of age [1,3]. Data on distribution of SPn serotypes among children in Lithuania are limited. A total of 45 SPn strains, which caused IPD in children under five years of age, were serotyped during 2006 to 2011. As the amount of data was low, the findings do not necessarily reflect the actual SPn serotype prevalence among IPD paediatric patients in Lithuania
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