Serotypes and antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from children

Introduction. Pneumococcal infection is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in children. Asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae plays an important role in the development of the disease and for the spread of resistant strains.
Objective: To investigate serotypes and sensitivity to antibiotics of nasopharyngeal strains of S. pneumoniae in children under 6 years.
Materials and methods. A retrospective cohort study of patients under 6 years with nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage was conducted. Children were examined at the National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health during 2017–2022. Serotyping was performed using specific pneumococcal antisera and/or molecular typing by PCR. Antimicrobial resistance was determined using the microdilution method.
Results. The study included three hundred eighty nasopharyngeal pneumococcal isolates: 316 (83%) from healthy children (without acute infection or exacerbation of chronic diseases) and 64 (17%) from children with acute bacterial infections (pneumonia, otitis, sinusitis). In total, 32 different serotypes were identified. In the general group of children, the proportion of vaccine strain isolates was 41%, while in the group of children with acute diseases it was 58%. Vaccination coverage was low: 28% of children were completely vaccinated, 10% were partially vaccinated. The highest level of resistance of pneumococcal strains was detected to erythromycin (33%), tetracycline (26%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (25%) and clindamycin (19%). 24% of isolates were multidrug resistant, the majority of which were serotype 19F.
Conclusion. Studying the current spectrum of pneumococcal serotypes and sensitivity to antibiotics is the most important task for optimizing therapy and preventing infection.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, children, antibiotic resistance, vaccination

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