Case report of a child diagnosed with five serotypes / serogroups of s. pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common causes of widespread diseases. Pneumococci colonize asymptomatically the nasopharynx in children and could be responsible for severe, life-threatening illnesses such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. The case report shows co-colonisation in two-year-old child vaccinated with the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-10) suffering from recurring catarrh and found to carry 5 serotypes S. pneumoniae. The strains have been detected and typed using molecular methods: real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) and allelic hybridization. Monitoring S. pneumoniae colonization of human mucosa is crucial to reduce the likelihood of severe invasive pneumococcal diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia or otitis.