About Streptococcus Pneumoniae

Streptococcus Pneumoniae is a gram-positive, alpha-hemolytic diplococcus aerotolerant anaerobe and a member of the genus Streptococcus. Pneumoniae was recognized as a major cause of pneumonia in the late 19th centurey and is the subject of many humoral immunity studies. It causes many types of infection other than pneumonia like: acute sinusitis, otis media, meningitis bactereemia, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis peritonitis, pericarditls, cellultis, and brain abscess. It is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in adults and chilren. The cell wall of S. pneumoniae is roughly six layers thick and is composed of peptidoglycan with teichoic acid attached to approximately every third N-acetylmuramic acid. Lipoteichoic acid is chemically identical to the teichoic acid but is attached to the cell membrane by a lipid moiety. Both the teichoic acid and the lipoteichoic acid contain phosphorylcholine; two choline residues may be covalently added to each carbohydrate repeat. This is an essential element in the biology of S. pneumoniae since the choline specifically adheres to choline-binding receptors that are located on virtually all human cells.

What is antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae?

In the 1940s, penicillin antibiotics became available and were used effectively to treat pneumococcal infections. During the 1960s, however, the first pneumococcal bacteria that were not susceptible ("resistant") to penicillin were discovered in humans. Since then, penicillin resistant pneumococcal bacteria have been reported all over the world. By the late 1970s, pneumococci that were resistant to other types of antibiotics in addition to penicillins were reported. These "multidrug resistant" pneumococci have now been reported all over the world.

What is the concern about antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae?

Antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal infections are difficult and expensive to treat. Treatment failures for disease caused by antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae have been reported. Antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae infections may require higher doses of antibiotic, longer duration of treatment and hospitalization, the use of more expensive medications, or use of medications with greater side-effect potential. The spread of these resistant bacteria increased dramatically during the 1990s. Understanding the evolution of resistant pneumococci and their spread among people is critical to developing effective prevention strategies and is an extremely important public health priority.

Scientific Classification

Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Firmicutes
Class:
Diplococci
Order:
Lactobacillales
Family:
Streptococcaceae
Genus:
Streptococcus
Species:
S. pneumoniae