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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Constructing Mutants in Serotype 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae strain 519/43
Published on: September 11, 2020
Serotype specific invasive capacity and persistent reduction in invasive pneumococcal disease.
Inci Yildirim1, William P Hanage, Marc Lipsitch
1Department of Pediatrics, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Yildirim@bu.edu
Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes vary greatly in their ability to cause invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Understanding this invasive capacity is crucial for predicting IPD risk and monitoring vaccine effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) is common.
- Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence varies by SP serotype.
- Predicting IPD risk requires understanding serotype-specific invasion potential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define the invasive capacity (IC) of different SP serotypes.
- To correlate SP carriage prevalence with IPD incidence.
- To inform public health strategies for IPD prevention.
Main Methods:
- Utilized enhanced surveillance data for IPD and SP nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage in Massachusetts children (≤7 years).
- Calculated serotype-specific IC by dividing IPD incidence by carriage prevalence.
- Analyzed data from 2003/04, 2006/07, and 2008/09 respiratory seasons.
Main Results:
- Observed a ~50-fold variation in IC estimates among SP serotypes.
- Serotypes 18C, 33F, 7F, 19A, 3, and 22F showed the highest IC.
- Most common serotypes colonizing children had low IC, contributing to reduced IPD.
- Identified high-IC serotypes like 33F and 22F as potential future IPD concerns.
Conclusions:
- Invasive capacity is a key differentiator among SP serotypes.
- Low IC of prevalent serotypes explains reduced IPD in the pre-vaccine era.
- Ongoing surveillance is vital to track high-IC serotypes and potential IPD increases with new vaccines.
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