Background Spain introduced 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in the childhood national immunization programme (NIP) in 2015-2016 with coverage of three doses of 94.8% in 2018. We assessed the evolution of all pneumococcal, PCV13 vaccine type (VT), and experimental PCV20-VT (PCV13 + serotypes 8, 10A, 11A, 12F, 15B, 22F, 33F) hospitalized community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults in Spain from 2011-2018. Materials/methods This was a prospective, observational study of immunocompetent adults (≥18y) admitted to four Spanish hospitals with chest X-ray confirmed CAP between November 2011 and November 2018. Microbiological confirmation was obtained using the Pfizer serotype specific urinary antigen detection tests (UAD1/UAD2), BinaxNow® of urine, and conventional cultures of blood, pleural fluid, and high-quality sputum. Results Of 3107 adults hospitalized with CAP, 1943 were ≥65 years. Underlying conditions were present in 87% (n=2704) of the study participants. Among all patients, 895 (28.8%) had pneumococcal CAP and 439 (14.1%) had PCV13-VT CAP, decreasing from 17.9% (n=77) to 13.2% (n=68) from 2011-2012 to 2017-2018 (p=0.049). PCV20-VT CAP occurred in 243 (23.8%) of those included in 2016-2018. The most identified serotypes were 3 and 8. Serotype 3 accounted for 6.9% (n=215) of CAP cases, remaining stable during the study period, and was associated with disease severity. Conclusions PCV13-VT caused a substantial proportion of CAP in Spanish immunocompetent adults eight years after introduction of childhood PCV13 immunization. Improving direct PCV13 coverage of targeted adult populations could further reduce PCV13-VT burden, a benefit that could be increased further if PCV20 is licensed and implemented.

In the last two decades, an increasing trend in the incidence of pneumococcal disease in Europe has been reported. We investigated the effect of the use of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in an area of northern Spain, where all recorded cases of invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) were included (n = 450; 91 between 1996-2007 in children aged <5 years and 359 between 1998-2007 in adults aged >64 years). All isolates were serotyped. In children, the overall IPD incidence did not significantly decrease after the introduction, in late 2001, of PCV7. However, the incidence of PCV7 serotypes significantly decreased by 137.2% from 31.59 cases/100,000 population in 1996-2001 to 13.42 in 2002-2007 (95% confidence interval [CI] -27.2 to -342.4%), as did the overall rates of penicillin resistance (from 45.6 to 18.6%) and multiresistance (from 30.3 to 11%). In older adults, the overall IPD incidence showed a non-significant increase due to non-PCV7 serotypes, which seemed to continue a previous trend in our region.

The macrolide resistance determinants and genetic elements carrying the mef(A) and mef(E) subclasses of the mef gene were studied with Streptococcus agalactiae isolated in 2003 and 2004 from 7,084 vaginorectal cultures performed to detect carrier pregnant women. The prevalence of carriage was 18% (1,276 isolates), and that of erythromycin resistance 11.0% (129 of the 1,171 isolates studied). erm(B), erm(A) subclass erm(TR), and the mef gene, either subclass mef(A) or mef(E), were found in 72 (55.8%), 41 (31.8%), and 12 (9.3%) erythromycin-resistant isolates, while 4 isolates had more than 1 erythromycin resistance gene. Of the 13 M-phenotype mef-containing erythromycin-resistant S. agalactiae isolates, 11 had the mef(E) subclass gene alone, one had both the mef(E) and the erm(TR) subclass genes, and one had the mef(A) subclass gene. mef(E) subclass genes were associated with the carrying element mega in 10 of the 12 mef(E)-containing strains, while the single mef(A) subclass gene found was associated with the genetic element Tn1207.3. The nonconjugative nature of the mega element and the clonal diversity of mef(E)-containing strains determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis suggest that transformation is the main mechanism through which this resistance gene is acquired.

Objective: An early reduction of adult invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was observed after the 13valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) introduction for children in Spain. We analysed the epidemiology of adult IPD in the late-PCV13 period. Methods: This was a prospective multicentre study of adult IPD involving six hospitals. Strains were serotyped, genotyped and studied for antimicrobial susceptibility. The late-PCV13 period was compared with the pre-and early-PCV13 periods. Results: A total of 2197 episodes were collectedd949 in 2008e2009, 609 in 2012e2013 and 639 in 2015 e2016. The initial decrease of IPD observed (from 12.3/100 000 to 8.1/100 000; 2008e2009 versus 2012 e2013) plateaued in 2015e2016 (8.3/100 000). IPD due to PCV13 serotypes decreased (from 7.7 to 3.5 to 2.3/100 000; p < 0.05), whereas IPD caused by non-PCV13 serotypes increased (from 4.5 to 4.6 to 6.0/ 100 000; p < 0.05). The most frequent serotypes in the late-PCV13 period were: 8 (15.1%), 3 (10.5%), 12F (7.9%) and 9N (5.4%). These serotypes were related to major genotypes: CC53 (59.8%) and CC404 (30.4%) for serotype 8, CC180 (64.1%) and CC260 (28.1%) for serotype 3, CC989 (91.7%) for serotype 12F and CC67 (84.8%) for serotype 9N. Penicillin-non-susceptibility (21.2%) was associated with serotypes 11A (CC156), 14 (CC156) and 19A (CC320), and macrolide-resistance was related to serotypes 24F and 19A. Rates of pneumococcal meningitis remained stable throughout the periods (ranges 0.9, 0.8 and 1.0/100 000). Conclusions: The initial decrease of adult IPD observed after PCV13 introduction for children has been balanced by the rise of non-PCV13 serotypes. The spread of antibiotic-resistant lineages related to non-PCV13 serotypes (11A and 24F) could be a threat for the treatment of serious pneumococcal diseases.