Pneumococcal Otopathogen Not Vulnerable to Approved Antibiotics and Vaccine

Introduction of a pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in the U.S. in 2000 decreased the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease by 69% to 91% and the incidence of acute otitis media (AOM) by 20%. However, strains not included in the vaccine have recently begun to emerge. In a prospective cohort study, researchers determined the types and antibiotic susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from children with AOM who had received PCV7.

Among 1816 children (age range, 6–36 months) diagnosed with AOM at a single pediatric practice in Rochester, New York, between September 2003 and June 2006, tympanocentesis was performed in 212 patients, and S. pneumoniae was isolated from 59. One strain that was isolated from ni…