Molecular typing, antibiotic susceptibility, and biofilm production in nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from children in Japan.

The prevalence of nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae (NESp) has increased with the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in children; however, the bacteriological characteristics of NESp have not been sufficiently clarified. In this study, NESp strains isolated from the nasopharyngeal carriage of children from four nursery schools in Japan were analyzed for molecular type, antibiotic susceptibility, and biofilm productivity. A total of 152 putative S. pneumoniae strains were identified by optochin-susceptibility analysis, of which 21 were not serotypeable by slide agglutination, quellung reaction, or multiplex PCR. Among these 21 strains, three were lytA-negative and, therefore, not S. pneumoniae. The remaining 18 strains were positive for lytA, ply, pspK, and bile solubility and were confirmed as NESp. Therefore, the isolation rate of NESp in the S. pneumoniae strains in this study was 12.0% (18/149). Molecular-typing analyses classified five strains as two existing sequence types (STs; ST7502 and ST7786), and 13 strains formed four novel STs. Horizontal spread was suspected, because strains with the same ST were often isolated from the same nursery school. The NESp isolates were generally susceptible to most antimicrobials, with the exception of macrolides; however, all isolates possessed more than one abnormal penicillin-binding protein gene. Furthermore, NESp strains were more effective than encapsulated counterparts at forming biofilms, which showed obvious differences in morphology. These data indicated that NESp strains should be continuously monitored as emerging respiratory pathogens.

Endocarditis por Streptococcus pneumoniae en niños: presentación de un caso clínico y revisión de la literatura / Endocarditis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children: case report and review

La endocarditis causada por Streptococcus pneumoniae es una patología muy poco frecuente en niños, correspondiendo sólo a 3 - 7 por ciento de los casos. Sin embargo, su importancia radica en que se puede presentar de forma muy agresiva, con complicaciones como destrucción valvular y abscesos, y con una mortalidad reportada hasta 61 por ciento, de no mediar tratamiento antimicrobiano precoz y muchas veces cardiocirugía. En más del 50 por ciento se puede asociar a otros focos infecciosos, como meningitis, neumonía, sinusitis o mastoiditis. Se describe el caso de una lactante de 10 meses que presentó una meningitis asociada a endocarditis debidas a S. pneumoniae, con grave compromiso cardíaco, y que requirió reemplazo valvular. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura médica acerca de endocarditis por S. pneumoniae en niños.

The effect of dietary fish oil on survival after infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae or Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Dietary fish oil is believed to have a beneficial effect in various infections and in autoimmune disorders. This effect may correspond to an altered immune response. In order to discover whether the effect of dietary fish oil is different in various infections, we studied the survival of mice fed fish oil or corn oil supplemented diets and infected in the lungs with either Klebsiella pneumoniae or Streptococcus pneumoniae. 120 NMRI mice were divided into 4 groups, of which 2 groups were fed a fish oil supplemented diet and 2 a corn oil supplemented diet. After 6 weeks the mice were infected in the lungs with Klebsiella pneumoniae (fish oil groups and corn oil groups) or with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (both groups). The survival rate was monitored. The experiment was performed twice. The survival of the mice fed fish oil enriched diet and infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae was significantly better compared with the mice fed corn oil enriched diet (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0013). No difference was found between the mice fed corn oil enriched diet or fish oil enriched diet and infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (p = 0.74 and p = 0.15). Our results indicate that dietary fish oil has a beneficial effect on survival of mice after experimental pneumoniae when infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae, but not after infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3.

Celulitis orbitaria en la edad pediátrica. Revisión / Orbital cellulitis in childhood. Review

La celulitis orbitaria comprende dos patologías bien diferenciadas desde un punto de vista anatomoclínico: la forma preseptal y la postseptal. Constituye una enfermedad infecciosa relativamente frecuente en la edad pediátrica que, normalmente, es secundaria a sinusitis. Presentamos una revisión de esta patología haciendo especial hincapié en el cambio etiológico acontecido en la última década tras la vacunación sistemática contra Haemophilus influenzae tipo B. (AU)

[Protective activity of a cell-free Klebsiella vaccine in infection in mice caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes]. / Protektivnaia aktivnost' beskletochnioi klebsielleznoi vaktsiny v otnoshenii sepsisa u myshei, vyzyvaemogo nekotorymi serotipami Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The capacity of dried Klebsiella cell-free vaccine, obtained from strain No. 204 by the disintegration of microbial mass with hydroxylamine, for protecting mice from pneumococcal infection caused by S. pneumoniae, serotypes 3, 4 and 9N, has been studied. Klebsiella vaccine has been found to possess immunostimulating potency with respect to the S. pneumoniae serotypes under study. On day 5 this potency is manifested to a greater extent than 24 hours after immunization. The combination of Klebsiella vaccine with Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli K-100 antigens enhances the stimulation of nonspecific resistance.