Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Dear Colleagues, 

Resistance to antibiotics has become a global problem, and infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae are a major cause of illness and death in the community (because pneumococcus is a leading cause of pneumonia and meningitis worldwide), with more than 100 known serotypes. Most S. pneumoniae serotypes can cause disease, but only a minority of serotypes produce the majority of pneumococcal infections. The elderly and children are at-risk groups for pneumococcal invasive disease development, and pneumococcal vaccines are indicated for prevention.

During recent years, the acquisition of resistance to a wide spectrum of chemically unrelated antibacterial agents has occurred in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Because Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of invasive (IPD) and non-invasive diseases, particularly in children and immunocompromised individuals, the importance of increasing knowledge of IPD epidemiology, the relevance of pneumococcal carriers, circulating serotypes, and trends in antimicrobial resistance is a remarkable task.

Also, immunological status concerning more vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly, immunocompromised patients, and those with comorbidities, general and species-specific pathways of the development of virulence and antibiotic resistance have to be taken into account. 

There is an urgent need for a stronger partnership and collaboration among clinical medicine, laboratory, and public health authorities regarding the identification/surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease and antimicrobial usage.

So, it is very important to focus on potential resistance mechanisms to certain antibiotics: tetracyclines, oxazolidinones, and fluoroquinolones, to be studied by genomic analysis, new diagnostic tools based on WGS, and new vaccine formulas.

Vaccination of all persons at high risk of pneumococcal infection would be a great benefit, and the need for new antimicrobial agents (new pneumococcal targets for the development of a new generation of antimicrobials against resistant pneumococci) is being felt in today’s society.

Also, in the future, it could be useful to introduce new pneumococcal vaccines, whose formula has to include more pneumococcal antigens, in order to provide immunity against the new circulating serotypes and the analysis/ definition of protective response, as well as the elucidation of adherence, invasion, and multidrug tolerance mechanisms.

Dr. Marina Panǎ
Guest Editor

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