Streptococcus pneumoniae News and Research

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Streptococcus pneumoniae, or Pneumococcus, is a very common bacterial infection in both industrialized and developing countries. In particular, young children and the elderly represent high-risk populations of developing pneumococcal infections. According to the WHO, the bacterium kills up to one million children under the age of five years each year worldwide. It accounts for many Bacterial Meningitis cases in adults and it is the most common cause of Bacteraemia, Pneumonia, Meningitis and Otitis media in young children.

Pneumonia uses hydrogen peroxide to weaken the immune system

Pneumonia is a lung infection, filling up the alveoli with pus and fluid. At present, it’s the leading cause of death among children. The lung infection accounts for 15 percent of all deaths in children below five years old, killing more than 800,000 children in 2017 alone.

3 Sep 2019

Researchers examine how superbug fights last-resort antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. A new study shows how superbugs adapt to combat 'last-resort antibiotics'.

13 Aug 2019

Researchers discover SIGN-R1 molecule that recognizes multiple variants of influenza

A team of researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, affiliated to USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland) have discovered and identified a molecule - SIGN-R1 - capable of recognizing the multiple variants of influenza and consequently 'directing' the immune response in individuals affected by the disease.

30 Jul 2019

Researchers study the role of nasal ecosystem and viral infection on pneumococcal acquisition

Researchers at LSTM, along with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and the University Medical Center Utrecht have looked at the impact of the natural microbial flora or microbiota in the nose and viral co-infection on pneumococcal acquisition in healthy adults.

5 Jul 2019

Global study reveals viruses as important cause of childhood pneumonia

Respiratory syncytial virus and other viruses now appear to be the main causes of severe childhood pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the need for vaccines against these pathogens, according to a study from a consortium of scientists from around the world, led by a team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

28 Jun 2019

Cannabis ingredient shows promise as potential antibiotic for superbugs

Researches at the University of Queensland in Australia have discovered that a topical formulation containing cannabidiol (CBD) is effective at killing bacterial skin infections.

25 Jun 2019

Researchers map the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia around the world

Researchers have mapped the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia around the world and revealed how these bacteria evolve in response to vaccination.

11 Jun 2019

Study: India has large disparities in under-five mortality rate between richer and poorer states

India in 2015 had more deaths among children under five than any other country and had large disparities in the under-five mortality rate between richer and poorer states, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

14 May 2019

PCV10 vaccine against pneumonia sharply reduces incidence of serious pneumococcal disease

A vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of childhood illness and mortality in the developing world, sharply reduced the incidence of serious pneumococcal disease among children in a large Kenyan community after it was introduced in 2011, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

17 Apr 2019

UA immunobiology professor will use $1.9 million grant to study copper's therapeutic potential

Pneumonia starts like this: A bacterial cell called Streptococcus pneumoniae enters the nostril. It travels down the nasal passage and into the lungs, where a war begins. In the lungs, S. pneumoniae encounters immune cells called macrophages, which will do whatever they can to fight it off.

29 Mar 2019

Researchers move a step closer to developing new pneumonia vaccine

A vaccine against the biggest bacterial killer on the planet is a step closer to being available with funding secured for preclinical trials.

4 Feb 2019

Vaccination with live S. mitis may offer protection from Streptococcus pneumoniae

Vaccinating laboratory mice with Streptococcus mitis bacteria prevents their virulent sibling, Streptococcus pneumoniae from infecting the mice.

30 Jan 2019

Newly designed drugs could help combat any potential flu pandemic

Researchers at LSTM and Imperial College London have designed drugs which could help combat any potential new flu pandemic, by targeting the receptors of the cells by which the virus gains entry to the human body.

28 Jan 2019

Scientists discover cellular mechanism that triggers pneumonia in humans

The situation is relatively common, especially in winter. You come down with the flu, which lasts longer than usual. A few days later, you discover you have pneumonia.

10 Dec 2018

Microbiologists uncover how antibiotics help spread resistance

Bacteria can become insensitive to antibiotics by picking up resistance genes from the environment. Unfortunately for patients, the stress response induced by antibiotics activates competence, the ability of cells to take up and integrate foreign DNA, in microorganisms.

27 Nov 2018

Breakthrough research reveals how deadly pneumococcus avoids immune defenses

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered a new and important function of a toxin produced by disease-causing bacteria that could have significant implications for future vaccine design.

12 Nov 2018

Mice study shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis

Biochemists, microbiologists, drug discovery experts and infectious disease doctors have teamed up in a new study that shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis in mice.

17 Oct 2018

Pfizer’s 20vPnC vaccine receives Breakthrough Therapy designation from FDA

Pfizer Inc. announced today that its 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine candidate, PF-06482077, received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of invasive disease and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in the vaccine in adults aged 18 years and older. Pfizer expects to start Phase 3 trials in a few months.

20 Sep 2018

Location of proteins on bacterial surface can impact pathogenicity of pneumococcal strains

Successful pathogenic strains of pneumococci have two proteins that, owing to their location on the surface of the bacteria, enhance their survival and ability to cause disease, a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in Nature Communications, reports.

23 Aug 2018

Pneumococcal genes predict course of disease

Pneumococcus is an important cause of pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. This bacterium commonly resides in the nasal cavity.

6 Jul 2018