Background: We investigated the pathogenesis of pneumococcal pneumonia using clinical specimens collected for pneumonia surveillance in The Gambia.
Methods: Lung aspirates and nasopharyngeal swabs from 31 patients were examined by culture, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), whole genome sequencing, serotyping, and reverse-transcription qPCR.
Results: Five lung aspirates cultured pneumococci, with a matching strain identified in the nasopharynx.