A lineage usually associated with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) serotypes is the most common cause of serotype 35B invasive disease in South Africa, following routine use of PCV.

Pneumococcal serotype 35B is an important non-conjugate vaccine (non-PCV) serotype. Its continued emergence, post-PCV7 in the USA, was associated with expansion of a pre-existing 35B clone (clonal complex [CC] 558) along with post-PCV13 emergence of a non-35B clone previously associated with PCV serotypes (CC156). This study describes lineages circulating among 35B isolates in South Africa before and after PCV introduction.

A mosaic tetracycline resistance gene tet(S/M) detected in an MDR pneumococcal CC230 lineage that underwent capsular switching in South Africa.

Objectives: We reported tet(S/M) in Streptococcus pneumoniae and investigated its temporal spread in relation to nationwide clinical interventions.

Methods: We whole-genome sequenced 12 254 pneumococcal isolates from 29 countries on an Illumina HiSeq sequencer. Serotype, multilocus ST and antibiotic resistance were inferred from genomes.

Prevention and control of meningococcal disease: Updates from the Global Meningococcal Initiative in Eastern Europe.

The Global Meningococcal Initiative (GMI) aims to prevent invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) worldwide through education, research and cooperation. In March 2019, a GMI meeting was held with a multidisciplinary group of experts and representatives from countries within Eastern Europe. Across the countries represented, IMD surveillance is largely in place, with incidence declining in recent decades and now generally at <1 case per 100,000 persons per year.

Application of Molecular Methods for Carbapenemase Detection.

This study has evaluated the correlation between different carbapenemases detection methods on carbapenem non-susceptible strains from Northern and Eastern Europe; 31 institutions in 9 countries participated in the research project, namely Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, St. Petersburg, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia. During the research program, a total of 5,001 clinical isolates were screened for any carbapenem non-susceptibility by the disk diffusion method, Vitek 2 or Phoenix system following the EUCAST guideline on detection of resistance mechanisms, version 1.