The importance of microbiology reference laboratories and adequate funding for infectious disease surveillance.

Microbiology reference laboratories perform a crucial role within public health systems. This role was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Viewpoint, we emphasise the importance of microbiology reference laboratories and highlight the types of digital data and expertise they provide, which benefit national and international public health.

Resilience and emergence of pneumococcal serotypes and lineages in adults post-PCV13 in Spain: A multicentre study.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae causes invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in adults. The introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has reduced vaccine serotypes but has also led to the rise of non-vaccine serotypes. The aim of this study was to analyse pneumococcal lineages and their association with recent changes in IPD among adults in Spain.

PCV13 vaccine prevents pneumococcal biofilms without affecting population within the polymicrobial biofilm.

In respiratory pathogens such as , biofilm formation is associated with the colonization of the nasopharynx and chronic respiratory infection. Previous data have shown that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) had an impact on colonization and a potential replacement by other respiratory pathogens such as . The objective of this work was to evaluate the evasion of the immune system by monospecific biofilms and by mixed biofilms.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Bacterial Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Multicenter Retrospective Study in Madrid (Spain).

This study conducted in Madrid (Spain) between 2018 and 2023 shows a significant decrease in the pediatric bacterial community-acquired pneumonia cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a notable postpandemic increase surpassing prepandemic incidence. Streptococcus pneumoniae remains predominant, with an increasing prevalence of serotype 3, while Streptococcus pyogenes was the second most common pathogen.