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Abstract
This study was carried out primarily to evaluate the public health burden related to Streptococcus pneumoniae in Ghana and to provide related preliminary molecular epidemiological data on the organism. Invasive and nasopharyngeal specimens were screened for S. pneumoniae, and isolates were subjected to serotyping, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Overall, the prevalence of S. pneumoniae in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was 1.7%, in blood was 0.2%, and in nasopharyngeal specimens was 15.3%. The prevalence of multiple drug resistance among the isolates was 48.6%, while the percentage resistance to various drugs was in the range of 11.1–84.0%. Serotyping of the S. pneumoniae isolates showed 7 different serotypes (3, 6B, 9, 10, 14, 16 and 23F). The extent of coverage of serotypes by the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was 57.1%, for the 10-valent vaccine was 57.1%, and for the 13-valent vaccine was 71.4%. MLST of 7 housekeeping genes of the organism showed a high level of genetic diversity among the isolates. S. pneumoniae appears to be an important organism in invasive infections in Ghana, being the most prevalent organism in CSF in this study. The high multiple drug resistance of the organism observed heightens the public health burden, which may be controlled by pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to a large extent.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by a grant from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Pneumococcal vaccines Accelerated Development and Introduction Plan; PneumoADIP) based at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health. The funding received is gratefully acknowledged. The technical assistance offered by clinicians and laboratory personnel of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, and Sunyani Regional Hospital is also acknowledged.
Ethical approval: The protocol of the study was approved by the Ethical and Protocol Committee of the University of Ghana Medical School. Informed consent was obtained from study subjects before enrolment, and in the case of children, consent was obtained from parents.
Declaration of interest: No conflict of interest to declare.