Serotypes and antimicrobial resistance of meningeal isolates of Streptococcus pneumonia. Cuba, 2007-2012

• Published in: Vaccimonitor 2014-12, Vol.23 (3), p.117-123
• Main Authors: Gilda Toraño-Peraza, Lisania Pías-Solis, Miriam Abreu-Capote, Misladys Rodríguez-Ortega, Félix Dickinson- Meneses, Marlen Varcárcel-Sánchez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: meningitis; Streptococcus pneumoniae; vaccination
• ISSN: 1025-028X; 1025-0298

An observational study was conducted to know the serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae responsible for meningitis in Cuba, where there is no vaccine yet to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease. The study included the total number of isolates submitted to the "Pedro Kourí" Institute between 2007 and 2012 (N=237). Serotypes identification was performed using capsular swelling test and antimicrobial susceptibility was studied by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration using the broth microdilution method. Predominant serotypes were 6A, 6B, 14, 19F and 23F and other non-vaccinal 18 serogroups/serotypes were identified in 29.1% of the isolates. A tendency to an increased resistance to penicillin (44.3 %) was observed; the most common resistance patterns were: penicillin-trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and penicillin-erythromycin (21.1% and 10.5%, respectively). The largest number of isolates resistant to penicillin was in serotypes 6B, 14, 19F and 23F and the possibility of resistant non-vaccine serotypes emergence should be considered. The results show that 70.4 % of the isolates studied corresponds to the serotypes included in 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine, but with 10-valent it would achieve a lower vaccination potential coverage (56.1%). This information must be considered when evaluating the decision to use in Cuba any commercially available vaccine or the proposal of another strategy of vaccination from autochthonous vaccine candidates.