Genomic surveillance of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in the period pre-PCV10 and post-PCV10 introduction in Brazil

In 2010, Brazil introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) into the national children's immunization programme. This study describes the genetic characteristics of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates before and after PCV10 introduction. A subset of 466 [pre-PCV10 (2008-2009): n=232, post-PCV10 (2012-2013): n=234;<5 years old: n=310, >= 5 years old: n=156] pneumococcal isolates, collected through national laboratory surveillance, were whole-genome sequenced (WGS) to determine serotype, pilus locus, antimicrobial resistance and genetic lineages. Following PCV10 introduction, in <5 years age group, non-vaccine serotypes (NVT) serotype 3 and serotype 19A were the most frequent, and serotypes 12F, 8 and 9 N in the >= 5 years old group. The study identified 65 Global Pneumococcal Sequence Clusters (GPSCs): 49 (88%) were GPSCs previously described and 16 (12 %) were Brazilian clusters. In total, 36 GPSCs (55 %) were NVT lineages, 18 (28 %) vaccine serotypes (VT) and 11 (17%) were both VT and NVT lineages. In both sampling periods, the most frequent lineage was GPSC6 (CC156, serotypes 14/9V). In the <5 years old group, a decrease in penicillin (P=0.0123) and cotrimoxazole (P<0.0001) resistance and an increase in tetracycline (P=0.019) were observed. Penicillin nonsusceptibility was predicted in 40% of the isolates; 127 PBP combinations were identified (51 predicted MIC >= 0.125 mg l(-1)); cotrimoxazole (folA and/or folP alterations), macrolide (mef and/ or ermB) and tetracycline (tetM, tetO or tetS/M) resistance were predicted in 63, 13 and 21.6% of pneumococci studied, respectively. The main lineages associated with multidrug resistance in the post-PCV10 period were composed of NVT, GPSC1 (CC320, serotype 19A), and GPSC47 (ST386, serotype 6C). The study provides a baseline for future comparisons and identified important NVT lineages in the post-PCV10 period in Brazil.

Automated summary

After the introduction of PCV10 in Brazil in 2010, non-vaccine serotypes 3 and 19A were most common in the <5 years age group, while serotypes 12F, 8, and 9 N predominated in the >=5 years age group. The study identified various global and Brazilian pneumococcal sequence clusters, with changes observed in antimicrobial resistance profiles following PCV10 introduction.