Pneumococcal serogroups and serotypes in severe pneumococcal pneumonia in Belgian children: theoretical coverage of the 7-valent and 9-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

Background: Although the causative pneumococcal serotypes of invasive diseases are already extensively studied, few data are available about the pneumococcal serotypes additionally isolated from broncho-alveolar lavage samples in childhood pneumonia.

Study Aim: To identify the causative pneumococcal serotypes in culture proven childhood community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and to calculate the effectiveness of the heptavalent and nonavalent pneumococcal vaccine (7- and 9-valent PnV) in severe pneumococcal pneumonia.

Methods: All pneumococcal isolates stored from broncho-alveolar lavage, blood culture and pleural fluid in healthy children with CAP were characterized.

Results: Seventy children (median age 2 years 3.5 months) could be included. The most prevalent serotypes were: SGT1 (21.4%), SGT6 (20.0%), SGT19 (12.8%), SGT23 (10.0%), and SGT14 (7.1%). SGT1 was especially prevalent in complicated cases and children >5 years. This first ranking of SGT1 is not reported in invasive pneumococcal disease studies. The overall theoretical coverage of the 7-valent PnV and the 9-valent PnV for pneumococcal pneumonia was 45.7% and 72.8%. The theoretical coverage of both vaccines was equal for non-invasive pneumonia (64%) but the theoretical coverage of the 9-valent PnV for invasive pneumonia was much higher (79% vs. 37.2%). Antibiotic susceptibility to penicillin was 84%, 70% to tetracycline and 61% to erythromycin; however only one strain (MIC = 4 mg/L) was highly resistant to penicillin.

Conclusions: Based on this serotyping, the theoretical coverage of the 7-valent PnV for proven pneumococcal pneumonia is good but decreases with age. A 9-valent PnV containing SGT1 could significantly increase the coverage, especially for invasive pneumonia. According to these data, penicillin remains the first choice antibiotic treatment for childhood CAP in Belgium.