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.

FDA permits marketing of first CSF nucleic acid-based test for detection of multiple pathogens

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) nucleic acid-based test for simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens that can cause central nervous system infections.

12 Oct 2015

Allergan's anti-infective portfolio to be highlighted at IDWeek 2015

Allergan plc today announced that its infectious disease portfolio will be featured in 13 abstracts highlighting data at IDWeek 2015, which takes place from October 7-11, 2015, in San Diego.

8 Oct 2015

Pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines lead to rapid reduction in pediatric hospital burden

Researchers show that the introduction of both pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and rotavirus vaccines (RVs) led to the rapid and dramatic reduction in hospital burden of both winter diarrhea and respiratory infections within <5 years post introduction of the vaccines.

22 Sep 2015

FDA approves Allergan's sNDA to update label for TEFLARO (ceftaroline fosamil)

Allergan plc today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company's supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to update the label for TEFLARO (ceftaroline fosamil) for the treatment of adult patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP).

2 Sep 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.

2 Sep 2015

Toxin pneumolysin causes progressive and fatal heart complications

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen and is known to be associated with increased risk of fatal heart complications including heart failure and heart attacks.

19 May 2015

University of Adelaide study reveals how metal cadmium causes toxicity in living cells

University of Adelaide research has uncovered how the metal cadmium, which is accumulating in the food chain, causes toxicity in living cells.

5 Mar 2015

IU researchers awarded NIH grant to develop new weapon to fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

The alarming increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses health and economic threats worldwide, with more than 2 million Americans infected by the bacteria each year. Now, a team of Indiana University chemists and biologists has been awarded a major grant to develop and use a chemical tagging method to better understand how bacteria build their cell wall, which is still the best target for new antibiotics.

10 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers reveal that e-cigarettes weaken immune system

In a study with mice, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers have found that e-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes.

5 Feb 2015

Tufts University researchers report that extra vitamin E can protect against pneumonia

Extra vitamin E protected older mice from a bacterial infection that commonly causes pneumonia. Microbiologists and nutrition researchers from Tufts University report that the extra vitamin E helped regulate the mice's immune system.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers explore new ways to treat, prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae

Scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology have used the power of new genomic technology to discover that microbes that commonly infect the eye have special, previously unknown properties. These properties are predicted to allow the bacterium -- Streptococcus pneumoniae -- to specifically stick to the surface of the eye, grow, and cause damage and inflammation.

13 Nov 2014

Females' natural resistance to bacterial pneumonia is linked to NOS3 enzyme

Researchers have linked increased resistance to bacterial pneumonia in female mice to an enzyme activated by the female sex hormone estrogen.

17 Oct 2014

FDA grants QIDP and Fast Track designation to Nabriva's lefamulin for treatment of CABP, ABSSSI

Nabriva Therapeutics AG, a biotechnology company focused on developing pleuromutilins, a new class of antibiotics for the treatment of serious infections caused by resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) as well as Fast Track status designation to Nabriva's lead product lefamulin, for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI).

8 Oct 2014

Three institutions collaborate to develop vaccine to treat pneumonia

The long-observed association between pneumonia and heart failure now has more physical evidence, thanks to research in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

26 Sep 2014

Influenza can cause ear and throat infections

Influenza infection can enhance the ability of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae to cause ear and throat infections, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity.

23 Sep 2014

Pneumonia in COPD patients has distinct clinical features

The aetiology and clinical features of community-acquired pneumonia are different in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than in those without the lung condition, Spanish research demonstrates.

22 Sep 2014

S. pneumoniae drug susceptibility tracked in Japan

A 12-year survey of the antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan has identified important changes, including improved susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics.

17 Sep 2014

Chinese study of serogroup 6 S. pneumoniae finds no antibiotic-resistant clones

A survey of serogroup 6 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from children in China has identified no antibiotic-resistant clones, leading the authors to speculate that the isolates may be under antibiotic selective pressure.

8 Sep 2014

Middle ear infections can be triggered by viral infection in nose, say researchers

Middle ear infections, which affect more than 85 percent of children under the age of 3, can be triggered by a viral infection in the nose rather than solely by a bacterial infection, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

6 Sep 2014

‘Concerning’ rise in pneumococcus risk factors

Researchers report that the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae infection has fallen significantly in the USA in the past decade but describe a “concerning trend” whereby the baseline health status of those with serious pneumococcal disease has worsened.

1 Sep 2014