Streptococcus pneumoniae serogroups and colony morphology: a look back

From 1985 to 1987, Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates were collected from children under 5 years of age in the Asaro Valley, Papua New Guinea as part of a study on bacterial colonization and respiratory tract infections. Data on serogroup and colony morphology were collected to survey serogroups and associated colony morphologies present in the area and to assess whether colony morphology can be indicative of serogroup. In total, 5989 colonies were examined; serogroups 6, 10, 14, 15, 19, 23, 33, 34, 35 and nonserotypeable strains were the most common and accounted for 77% of all the colonies, with serogroups 6, 19 and 23 accounting for 48%. The majority of colonies displayed the typical draughtsman morphology, though serogroup 10 and non-serotypeable isolates most often displayed a raised colony morphology. Of the 15 mucoid colonies identified 73% were serotype 3, though only 29% of serotype 3 isolates were mucoid. Thus colony morphology is of limited value in identifying the pneumococcal serogroup/serotype apart from mucoid colonies, which are likely to be serotype 3.

Patrones de sensibilidad de los aislados de Haemophilus de ninos de once países en desarrollo / Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Haemophilus isolates from children in eleven developing countries

Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Haemophilus isolates from children in eleven developing nations

Multiple colonization of the upper respiratory tract of Papua New Guinea children with Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Nasal secretions from Papua New Guinea children were cultured using selective agents, to determine the prevalence of multiple colonization for both S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae. 29.5% of 156 and 53% of 93 carriage positive subjects harbored more than one type of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae respectively. Of 95 strains of pneumococci isolated from multiply colonized children, 40% were relatively resistant to benzylpenicillin. In more than one half of the children in this group both penicillin sensitive and resistant serotypes coexisted. Significantly more penicillin resistant pneumococci were isolated from children with ready access to primary and regional health care services. Among H. influenzae the prevalence of multiple isolations due to nonencapsulated variants only, and encapsulated plus nonencapsulated organisms was similar. The commonest biotypes were types I, II, III and V, and each was similarly associated with multiple carriage.