A Brief History of the Pneumococcus in Biomedical Research: A Panoply of Scientific Discovery

Abstract

Because of its prominence as a cause of disease in humans, Streptococcus pneumoniae has been the subject of intensive investigation at both the clinical level and the basic scientific level during the past century. In a number of instances, these studies have resulted in important progress toward the comprehension of basic biological principles. The areas advanced by studies of the pneumococcus include an understanding of the concept of pathogenesis of infectious disease; the development of Gram's stain for identification of bacteria in specimens from patients; the elucidation of the role of the bacterial capsule in resistance to phagocytosis by cells of the host's immune system; the demonstration that molecules other than proteins are capable of eliciting the host's humoral immune responses and later, by extension, that isolated bacterial exopolysaccharides can be used safely and effectively as vaccines in humans; the documentation of the efficacy of penicillin; the collection of conclusive evidence that DNA encodes genetic information; and the investigation of putative proteinaceous virulence factors.

Current status and future directions of invasive pneumococcal diseases and prophylactic approaches to control them

“…1 It most often colonizes in the nasopharynx of its host. 2 Colonization with this bacterium in the nasopharynx is exceptionally common, with 40–95% of infants and 1–10% of adults being colonized at any time.…”

Severe viral pneumonia in adults: what is important for the ICU physician?

“…Centuries later, around 1875, Prussian physician Edwin Klebs was the first one describing the presence of bacterial microorganisms in the airways of deceased patient because of respiratory disease [2]. Subsequently, further studies simultaneously performed by Louis Pasteur in France and George Sternberg in the United States led to the identification in 1881 of a pathogenic diplococcus which in 1886 would be named Pneumococcus, because of its propensity to cause pulmonary diseases [3]. In the following years, Pneumococcus was confirmed to be the main bacterial agent to cause pneumonia, and many other bacterial agents were identified as causative of respiratory infection.…”

Bacterial Lung Disease and COPD

“…Primarily bacterial in origin, communityacquired pneumonia (CAP) is evidenced by radiological and/or clinical observation of consolidation in one or both lungs [16]. The major cause of CAP, is Streptococcus pneumoniae , described by Louis Pasteur in 1881 [17,18]. To date, over 90 different serotypes of S. pneumoniae have been identified based on polysaccharide capsule antigens [19].…”