Pneumococcal disease, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a serious health issue. Here, Carolyn Moonen and Markus Meyer examine how recent technological advances in identification of bacterial isolates and their serotypes are improving disease surveillance and treatment.
Despite decades of research, vaccination programmes and improved clinical management, pneumococcal disease continues to pose a serious threat to global public health. The disease, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, can range from mild infections, such as otitis media and sinusitis, to severe and potentially life-threatening infections, including meningitis and pneumonia, and is a particular threat to young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Pneumococcal meningitis is fatal in around 15% of children, while a further 25% face long-term disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss and seizures. Alongside this, 40,000 people in the UK are hospitalised with pneumococcal pneumonia annually, with a mortality rate of approximately 20% despite antibiotic treatment.1
Against this backdrop, effective surveillance of S. pneumoniae is a key component to limit infection and protect public health. Accurate and timely identification of bacterial isolates and their serotypes is essential for tracking transmission and evaluating vaccine performance. Traditional microbiological methods, while reliable, can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, revealing the need for newer phenotype-based approaches, including Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, that can differentiate and classify strains at sub-species level and deliver information more rapidly.
Challenge of serotype diversity
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