Discovery brings hope in war against killer pneumonia

The 100th pneumococcus capsule since the pneumonia pathogen was discovered over one century ago has been found.

The new capsule was found by pneumococcus researchers at a laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The discovery of this capsule comes as the latest boost in the fight against infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Streptococcus pneumoniae is recognised as the leading pathogen in cases of community-acquired pneumonia (pneumonia acquired outside health facilities).

According to Dr Moon Nahm, the microbiologist who led the team of scientists in the study, the discovery is a major milestone in combating the evolving bacteria and the development of better pneumonia vaccines. “Different strains of pneumonia have different capsules. This requires all capsules to be identified in the development of an absolute vaccine. If you get rid of the capsules, the bugs will not be able to cause the infections,” said Dr Nahm.

The pneumococcal vaccines currently in use contain 10 to 13 different types of capsules. According to Dr Nahm, these cause a human being’s immune system to produce antibodies against pneumococcal capsules.

Currently, Streptococcus pneumoniae causes up to one million child deaths globally every year. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund 2018/19 data on pneumonia mortality rate, one child dies every 39 seconds from pneumonia. In Kenya, data from the Economic Survey 2020 shows that pneumonia continues to be a leading child killer. It is also the leading cause of hospitalisation among children aged five years and below.

According to the study report, Dr Nahm and his team of scientists made the discovery after a sequence of genomes of more than 20,000 pneumococci strains was referred to their laboratory by the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing project. The sequencing and the discovery were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Some of the new genes responsible for the new capsule came from oral streptococci, which are germs that live in the mouth and the nose,” he said.

Oral streptococci are also linked as the pathogens of various systemic diseases including intestinal inflammation, brain hemorrhage and purulent infections. “This connection between the two strains suggests that the pathogenic pneumococci can access genes from other less harmful bacteria, which will help the pathogen hide better in the body,” said the study whose findings were published in the medical journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

The study suggested that the ongoing evolution of pneumococcal pathogens demands for improved diagnostic tests.