Investigation and control of a cluster of penicillin non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in a care home

SummaryTwo elderly residents of a care home were hospitalised with pneumonia over a period of one month. They had bacteraemia with penicillin non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSP) and both died. All residents and staff of the care home were screened for PNSP using nasopharyngeal swabs, with one resident and one member of staff found to be asymptomatic carriers. Oral rifampicin was given to the carriers. All four strains were found to be serotype 14, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed ST2652, not previously detected in Scotland. Review of care home residents showed that pneumococcal vaccination coverage was low (63%). This is similar to rates found in those aged ≥65 years in the general population and needs to be improved upon.