Bacterial Pneumonia

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus isn’t a new bacteria.

• 1881 – first isolated and grown by Louis Pasteur, and then demonstrated to be a cause of pneumonia.

• 1913 – Discovery of type-specific antibodies!

The bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of pneumonia.

Streptococcus is the leading bacterial cause of respiratory tract infection, which can develop into

meningitis, peritonitis , and sepsis.

In the U.S. alone, streptococcus causes…

• 3,300 meningitis cases• 60,000 invasive disease cases• 135,000 pneumonia hospitalizations

Per YEAR

Worldwide, pneumonia kills 1.8 million children under 5

years old every year!

Bacteria is aerolized

Inhaled into lungs

Alveolar cells penetrated

Choline, a component of the cell wall, allows S. pneumoniae

to enter host cells.

Pneumococcus invades epithelial cell tissues, but…

it escapes the macrophagedefense mechanisms!

But how??

S. pneumoniae has a capsular polysaccharide that surrounds the

whole bacteria.• Functions as the bacteria’s major protective antigen• “Mops up” the host’s antibodies before they even

reach the bacterial surface!

Capsular polysaccharide

Over 100 strains of this bacteria exist!

Streptococcus interferes with the host’s antibody activity

by producing “IgA Proteases”.

The bacteria also has a natural transformation system that is the reason for its antibiotic resistance.

The symptoms of bacterial Pneumonia are cold/flu-like.

• Rapid/difficult breathing• Cough• Fever• Chills• Loss of appetite

Streptococcus pneumonia can be diagnosed by an X-ray or

being isolated from body fluids like blood, spinal fluid, urine, or

sputum.

People most at risk for being infected are young and old,

immuno-compromised, and those with inadequate spleen function.

Environmental conditions also affect the risk of bacterial pneumonia

infection, such as indoor pollution from biomass fuels, living in crowded

homes, and first/second-hand smoking.

The preventative treatment for streptococcus pneumoniae

is a 23-valent vaccine.

Prevention and proper treatment of bacterial pneumonia could avert 11

million children’s deaths every year!

• Treatment alone could avert 600,000 children’s deaths.

Antibiotics are the treatment of choice for bacterial pneumonia.

• Penicillin or Amoxicillin for regions without resistance

• Various antibiotics are used in regions where local strains are resistant to amoxicillin or other drugs.

S. pneumoniae causes about 3 million deaths per year in

young children in developing countries.

There are global discrepancies in infection rate due to:

• Socio-economic status• Genetics• Prior infections

$600 million would cover the cost of treating all children in the world with bacterial pneumonia in 42 of the world’s poorest countries.• This includes antibiotics AND the cost of

training health workers to strengthen health systems

The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of

Pneumonia (GAPP) was created to accelerate

pneumonia control for child survival.

• Promotes immunization, case management guidelines, reduction in indoor air pollution, and preventative antibiotic treatment in HIV kids.

The goal is to implement the GAPP plan in the 68 high-

prevalence countries by 2015.• The cost of doing this would be $39 billion

Strategy:• Providing low-risk environments• Preventing contraction by vaccines• Treating infected children with antibiotics

Streptococcus Pneumoniae Presentation Sources - Natalie Dunlop

1.http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/S.pneumoniae.html

2.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/streppneum_t.ht

m 3.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_spneumoniae_data.html 4. http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/451448

5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4481571?seq=1 6.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs331/en/index.html

7.http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects1999/bmenin/

spneu.html 8.

http://www.immunizationinfo.org/vaccines/pneumococcal-disease