1. Increase in Pilus Islet 2–encoded Pili among Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Author
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Dorothea Zähner, Aditya Gudlavalleti, and David S. Stephens
- Subjects
Streptococcus pneumoniae ,pili ,streptococci ,serotypes ,bacteria ,vaccine ,Medicine ,Infectious and parasitic diseases ,RC109-216 - Abstract
To define the prevalence of pilus islet 2 (PI-2)–encoded pili in Streptococcus pneumoniae in a geographically defined area, we examined 590 S. pneumoniae isolates from population-based surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 1994–2006. In 2006, PI-2 was present in 21% of all invasive isolates, including serotypes 1 (100%), 7F (89%), 11A (21%), 19A (40%), and 19F (75%). Only serotype 19F is included in the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that is in use worldwide. In 1999, PI-2-containing isolates were of the same serotypes but accounted for only 3.6% of all invasive isolates. The increase of PI-2 in 2006 resulted predominantly from the emergence of serotype 19A isolates of sequence type 320 and the expansion of serotype 7F isolates. The increase in PI-2-containing isolates and the finding that isolates of all identified serotypes expressed highly conserved PI-2 pili supports their potential as a vaccine candidate. more...
- Published
- 2010
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