Macrolide antibiotics are widely used for a range of indications, including pneumonia. Both high-level and low-level resistance to macrolides is increasing in pneumococci globally. Macrolide resistance in pneumococci is of limited clinical relevance where ß-lactams remain the mainstay of treatment, such as for moderate/severe pneumonia; however, data suggest that macrolides may not be able to b...

1. Pneumococci of Type I and Type II are responsible for the majority of the cases of lobar pneumonia. 2. Among the pneumococci found in the mouths of healthy individuals, Type IV predominates, Type III is fairly frequent, and atypical organisms of Type II are occasionally encountered. Organisms of these types give rise to a minority of cases of lobar pneumonia. 3. Healthy persons intimately as...

The pneumococcal pilus has been shown to be an important determinant of adhesion and virulence in mouse models of colonization, pneumonia, and bacteremia. A pilus is capable of inducing protective immunity, supporting its inclusion in next-generation pneumococcal protein vaccine formulations. Whether this vaccine target is common among pneumococci in sub-Saharan Africa is uncertain. To define t...

Antibiotic choice can alter host inflammation during invasive bacterial infections. Previous studies of gram-negative organisms concluded that antibiotic-mediated release of bacterial cell wall components amplifies inflammation. Less has been reported about antibiotic effect on gram-positive organisms. This study explored the hypothesis that Streptococcus pneumoniae would induce greater macroph...

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a major human pathogen causing invasive disease, including community-acquired bacteraemia, and remains leading cause of global mortality. Understanding the role phagocytes in killing bacteria still limited, especially vivo. In this study, we established zebrafish model to study interaction between intravenously administered pneumococci professional...

1. When mice are passively immunized by the intraperitoneal injection of antipneumococcus horse serum or actively by the injection of heat-killed pneumococcus cultures, and are then alcoholized and sprayed with a culture of pneumococci of the same type as that of the bacteria employed in immunization, a considerable number die with localized lesions in the lungs. 2. If instead of injecting immu...

We used population-based data to evaluate how often groups of randomly selected clinical laboratories accurately estimated the prevalence of resistant pneumococci and captured trends in resistance over time. Surveillance for invasive pneumococcal disease was conducted in eight states from 1996 to 1998. Within each surveillance area, we evaluated the proportion of all groups of three, four, and ...

Although pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are close to being licensed, a more profound knowledge of the virulence factors responsible for the morbidity and mortality caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is necessary. This review deals with the major structures of pneumococci involved in the pathogenesis of pneumococcal disease and their interference with the defense mechanisms of the host. It is w...

1. Pneumococci of Type I and Type II are responsible for the majority of the cases of lobar pneumonia. 2. Among the pneumococci found in the mouths of healthy individuals Type IV predominates, Type III is frequent, and atypical organisms of Type II are occasionally found. 3. Healthy persons intimately associated with cases of lobar pneumonia may harbor in their mouth secretions the highly paras...

The bactericidal function of macrophages against pneumococci is enhanced by their apoptotic demise, which is controlled by the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. Here, we show that lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) and cytosolic translocation of activated cathepsin D occur prior to activation of a mitochondrial pathway of macrophage apoptosis. Pharmacological inhibition or knockout of cathep...