Clonal lineages and antimicrobial resistance of nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae in the post-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine era in Japan
Mitsuyo Kawaguchiya, Noriko Urushibara, Meiji Soe Aung, Kenji Kudo, Masahiko Ito, Ayako Sumi, Nobumichi Kobayashi
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The emergence and spread of nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae (NESp) is a public health concern in the post-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine era. We analyzed the prevalence, molecular characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance of NESp responsible for noninvasive infections in northern Japan. METHODS: NESp isolates were identified using molecular and phenotypical methods among 4463 S. pneumoniae isolates from noninvasive infection cases during 4 study periods between January 2011 and January 2019. NESp isolates were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility, genotype, and virulence-associated genes. RESULTS: -ST230. High non-susceptibility rates of NESp were observed for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin, and tetracycline (>92.9%), and multidrug resistance was observed in 88.7% of the NESp isolates, including all ST7502, ST4845, and ST11379 isolates. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that the dominant clonal groups of NESp were associated with a high prevalence of non-susceptibility to antimicrobials in northern Japan.