High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018
Background: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is used to gain insight into the population genetics of bacteria in the form of sequence type (ST). MLST has been used to study the evolution and spread of virulent clones of <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> in many parts of the world. Such da...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/1/225 |
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| author | Eiman Mokaddas Mohammad Asadzadeh Shabeera Syed M. John Albert |
| author_facet | Eiman Mokaddas Mohammad Asadzadeh Shabeera Syed M. John Albert |
| author_sort | Eiman Mokaddas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is used to gain insight into the population genetics of bacteria in the form of sequence type (ST). MLST has been used to study the evolution and spread of virulent clones of <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> in many parts of the world. Such data for <i>S. pneumoniae</i> are lacking for the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, including Kuwait. Methods: We determined the STs of all 31 strains of <i>S. pneumoniae</i> from invasive diseases received at a reference laboratory from various health centers in Kuwait during 2018 by MLST. The relationship among the isolates was determined by phylogenetic analysis. We also determined the serotypes by Quellung reaction, and antimicrobial susceptibility by Etest, against 15 antibiotics belonging to 10 classes. Results: There were 28 STs among the 31 isolates, of which 14 were new STs (45.2%) and 5 were rare STs (16.1%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 26 isolates (83.9%) were unrelated singletons, and the Kuwaiti isolates were related to those from neighboring countries whose information was gleaned from unpublished data available at the PubMLST website. Many of our isolates were resistant to penicillin, erythromycin, and azithromycin, and some were multidrug-resistant. Virulent serotype 8-ST53, and serotype 19A with new STs, were detected. Conclusions: Our study detected an unusually large number of novel STs, which may indicate that Kuwait provides a milieu for the evolution of novel STs. Novel STs may arise due to recombination and can result in capsular switching. This can impact the effect of vaccination programs on the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease. This first report from the Arabian Peninsula justifies the continuous monitoring of <i>S. pneumoniae</i> STs for the possible evolution of new virulent clones and capsular switching. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:50:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4a5db3cc56a47fc8a4f4934127e527b2024-01-29T14:07:10ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-01-0112122510.3390/microorganisms12010225High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018Eiman Mokaddas0Mohammad Asadzadeh1Shabeera Syed2M. John Albert3Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, Safat 13110, KuwaitDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, Safat 13110, KuwaitDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, Safat 13110, KuwaitDepartment of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, Safat 13110, KuwaitBackground: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is used to gain insight into the population genetics of bacteria in the form of sequence type (ST). MLST has been used to study the evolution and spread of virulent clones of <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> in many parts of the world. Such data for <i>S. pneumoniae</i> are lacking for the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, including Kuwait. Methods: We determined the STs of all 31 strains of <i>S. pneumoniae</i> from invasive diseases received at a reference laboratory from various health centers in Kuwait during 2018 by MLST. The relationship among the isolates was determined by phylogenetic analysis. We also determined the serotypes by Quellung reaction, and antimicrobial susceptibility by Etest, against 15 antibiotics belonging to 10 classes. Results: There were 28 STs among the 31 isolates, of which 14 were new STs (45.2%) and 5 were rare STs (16.1%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 26 isolates (83.9%) were unrelated singletons, and the Kuwaiti isolates were related to those from neighboring countries whose information was gleaned from unpublished data available at the PubMLST website. Many of our isolates were resistant to penicillin, erythromycin, and azithromycin, and some were multidrug-resistant. Virulent serotype 8-ST53, and serotype 19A with new STs, were detected. Conclusions: Our study detected an unusually large number of novel STs, which may indicate that Kuwait provides a milieu for the evolution of novel STs. Novel STs may arise due to recombination and can result in capsular switching. This can impact the effect of vaccination programs on the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease. This first report from the Arabian Peninsula justifies the continuous monitoring of <i>S. pneumoniae</i> STs for the possible evolution of new virulent clones and capsular switching.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/1/225<i>S. pneumoniae</i>MLSTsequence typeserotypephylogenetic analysisKuwait |
| spellingShingle | Eiman Mokaddas Mohammad Asadzadeh Shabeera Syed M. John Albert High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 Microorganisms <i>S. pneumoniae</i> MLST sequence type serotype phylogenetic analysis Kuwait |
| title | High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 |
| title_full | High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 |
| title_fullStr | High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 |
| title_full_unstemmed | High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 |
| title_short | High Prevalence of Novel Sequence Types in <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> That Caused Invasive Diseases in Kuwait in 2018 |
| title_sort | high prevalence of novel sequence types in i streptococcus pneumoniae i that caused invasive diseases in kuwait in 2018 |
| topic | <i>S. pneumoniae</i> MLST sequence type serotype phylogenetic analysis Kuwait |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/1/225 |
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