Capsular serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Streptococcus pneumoniae causing invasive pneumococcal disease from 2009–2012 with an emphasis on serotype 19A in bacteraemic pneumonia and empyema and β-lactam resistance

Capsular serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates that cause invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) were studied and the role of serotype 19A in the development of bacteraemic pneumonia and empyema was investigated. Subjects comprised 98 patients (56 adults and 42 children) who were treated for IPD at a university-affiliated tertiary referral centre in Taiwan during 2009–2012. Serotypes of the isolates were identified using the latex agglutination method. In vitro susceptibilities of the isolates to 13 antimicrobial agents were determined using the broth microdilution method and were interpreted as recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. During the study period, bacteraemic pneumonia was the most common type of infection (43/98; 43.9%), followed by primary bacteraemia (30/98; 30.6%). Serotype 19A was the most common serotype (23/98; 23.5%) in all patients. Fourteen (70.0%) of 20 children (47.6% of all children) with serotype 19A infection had pneumonia with empyema, whilst eight patients had concomitant bacteraemia. 7-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV-7), PCV-10, PCV-13 and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV-23) had coverage rates of 37.8%, 38.8%, 79.6% and 77.6%, respectively. A substantial increase in the proportion of serotype 15A (6.1%) and 6A (8.2%) was found. In addition, there was a significant reduction in rates of susceptibility of serotype 19A isolates to penicillin, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone but not to azithromycin or any quinolone tested compared with those of non-19A isolates. The prevalence of serotypes 19A, 15A and 6A in patients with IPD increased markedly during the period, especially in children with bacteraemic pneumonia and empyema.