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Published on: February 23, 2014
A pediatric case of acute meningitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 33D
Ayşe Kaman1, Türkan Aydın-Teke, Fatma Nur Öz
1Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Research and Training Hospital, Ankara,Turkey. ayse092003@yahoo.com.
Insights
A rare Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 33D caused meningitis in an unvaccinated child. This highlights the risk of non-vaccine serotypes causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
Background:
- Streptococcus pneumoniae causes significant childhood illnesses, including meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis.
- The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) targets common serotypes responsible for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
- Increasingly, non-vaccine serotypes are emerging as causes of IPD.
Observation:
- Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence is highest in children under two years old.
- Rare, non-vaccine serotypes can cause meningitis in older, unvaccinated children.
- A pediatric case of meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 33D was identified.
Findings:
- Serotype 33D is a rare cause of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), particularly in regions with routine PCV7 vaccination.
- This is the first reported case of meningitis due to S. pneumoniae serotype 33D in a country with widespread PCV7 use.
- The case occurred in an unvaccinated child, emphasizing the vulnerability of this population.
Implications:
- The emergence of non-vaccine serotypes like 33D poses a continued threat for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
- Enhanced surveillance for non-vaccine serotypes is crucial for understanding evolving epidemiology.
- Vaccination strategies may need to adapt to address the increasing prevalence of non-vaccine serotypes.
Abstract:
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children. It is also responsible for bacteremia, sepsis, pneumonia, sinusitis and acute otitis media in young children worldwide. The serotypes included in the 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV7)-1, 5, 6A, 6B, 14, 19F, 23F-are those most commonly responsible for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) globally. Unvaccinated children are at greater risk for meningitis. The rate of non-vaccine serotypes as causes of invasive disease has increased. Although the incidence rate of IPD is highest in children aged <2 years, the rare, non-vaccine serotypes of S. pneumoniae may be responsible for acute meningitis in older, unvaccinated children. In this report, we present a pediatric case of meningitis due to S. pneumoniae serotype 33D, which has not been previously identified as a cause of IPD in those countries where PCV7 is routinely administered, including Turkey.
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