Serotype prevalence and antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae clinical isolates among global populations

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of disease in children and adults. Serotypes differ in invasiveness, virulence, and antibiotic resistance; therefore, serotype surveillance is necessary to monitor the burden of pneumococcal disease, especially in the setting of pneumococcal vaccination programs. The Tigecycline Evaluation Surveillance Trial, (TEST), is an on-going global antibiotic susceptibility surveillance program. Serotypes and antibiotic susceptibilities of 2173 invasive S. pneumoniae in this existing database during 2004-2008 were evaluated. Worldwide, serotypes 19A (28%), 19F (10%) and 14 (9%) were the most common in children under 5 years. In adults over 16 years, 19A (13%), 3, 6A and 7F (all 7%) were most common. Serotypes 19A, 6A, 19F, 6B, 15A, 9V, and 14 exhibited significantly higher levels of erythromycin resistance (P<0.05), while 19A, 19F, 35B, 6A, 6B, 23A, 9V, 15A, and 14 demonstrated higher rates of penicillin resistance (P<0.05). This analysis of an existing pathogen database provides a snapshot of global serotype data and describes the consequential issue of antibiotic resistance in specific serotypes, many of which are increasingly common causes of invasive pneumococcal disease.