Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) successfully decreased the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in children. However, many countries have reported serotype replacement and a rebound in diseases from non-vaccine serotypes. Here, we report the genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Medical Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438422121000722 |
| _version_ | 1819102151204405248 |
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| author | Huiluo Cao Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu Susan S. Chiu Shuo Jiang Kin-Hung Chow Pak-Leung Ho |
| author_facet | Huiluo Cao Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu Susan S. Chiu Shuo Jiang Kin-Hung Chow Pak-Leung Ho |
| author_sort | Huiluo Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) successfully decreased the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in children. However, many countries have reported serotype replacement and a rebound in diseases from non-vaccine serotypes. Here, we report the genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae strain M215 that caused severe meningoencephalitis in an infant in 2019. The strain was assigned to serotype 24F using the bioinformatic pipeline SeroBA and pneumococcal type specific anti-sera. The strain was resistant to cotrimoxazole from mutations in both folA and folP genes. It was susceptible to penicillin and other non-β-lactam antibiotics. Phylogenetically, it belongs to Global Pneumococcal Sequence Cluster (GPSC) 6 and multi-locus sequence type 162. A total of 38 virulence genes were detected in the genome of M215. Upon comparison of the profile of virulence genes, GPSC6 but not non-GPSC6 strains of serotype 24F and related serotypes were found to possess the major virulence determinant, pilus islet-1, comprising genes encoding sortases (srtB, srtC, srtD), pilus proteins (rrgA, rrgB and rrgC) and one transcriptional regulator (rlrA), which was previously described to be characteristic feature of international clones in the pre-PCV era. In our locality, this represented the first detection of serotype 24F and GPSC6/ST162 causing serious pneumococcal disease. The emergence of the non-vaccine serotype 24F GPSC6/ST162 lineage with molecular feature of high virulence is concerning and emphasizes the need for full characterization of strains causing severe disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:30:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25949474bad64117946faf67699c02bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1438-4221 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:30:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Medical Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-25949474bad64117946faf67699c02bc2022-12-21T18:43:31ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Medical Microbiology1438-42212021-12-013118151543Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong KongHuiluo Cao0Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu1Susan S. Chiu2Shuo Jiang3Kin-Hung Chow4Pak-Leung Ho5Carol Yu Center for Infection and Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaCarol Yu Center for Infection and Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaCarol Yu Center for Infection and Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaCarol Yu Center for Infection and Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China; Correspondence to: Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) successfully decreased the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in children. However, many countries have reported serotype replacement and a rebound in diseases from non-vaccine serotypes. Here, we report the genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae strain M215 that caused severe meningoencephalitis in an infant in 2019. The strain was assigned to serotype 24F using the bioinformatic pipeline SeroBA and pneumococcal type specific anti-sera. The strain was resistant to cotrimoxazole from mutations in both folA and folP genes. It was susceptible to penicillin and other non-β-lactam antibiotics. Phylogenetically, it belongs to Global Pneumococcal Sequence Cluster (GPSC) 6 and multi-locus sequence type 162. A total of 38 virulence genes were detected in the genome of M215. Upon comparison of the profile of virulence genes, GPSC6 but not non-GPSC6 strains of serotype 24F and related serotypes were found to possess the major virulence determinant, pilus islet-1, comprising genes encoding sortases (srtB, srtC, srtD), pilus proteins (rrgA, rrgB and rrgC) and one transcriptional regulator (rlrA), which was previously described to be characteristic feature of international clones in the pre-PCV era. In our locality, this represented the first detection of serotype 24F and GPSC6/ST162 causing serious pneumococcal disease. The emergence of the non-vaccine serotype 24F GPSC6/ST162 lineage with molecular feature of high virulence is concerning and emphasizes the need for full characterization of strains causing severe disease.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438422121000722Pneumococcal conjugate vaccineEpidemiologyInvasive pneumococcal diseaseCotrimoxazole resistance |
| spellingShingle | Huiluo Cao Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu Susan S. Chiu Shuo Jiang Kin-Hung Chow Pak-Leung Ho Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong International Journal of Medical Microbiology Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Epidemiology Invasive pneumococcal disease Cotrimoxazole resistance |
| title | Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong |
| title_full | Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong |
| title_fullStr | Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong |
| title_short | Genomic investigation of a Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24F strain causing meningoencephalitis in Hong Kong |
| title_sort | genomic investigation of a streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 24f strain causing meningoencephalitis in hong kong |
| topic | Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Epidemiology Invasive pneumococcal disease Cotrimoxazole resistance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438422121000722 |
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