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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2006, p. 743-749, Vol. 44, No. 3
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.44.3.743-749.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Successful, Diverse Disease-Associated Lineage of Nontypeable Pneumococci That Has Lost the Capsular Biosynthesis Locus

W. P. Hanage,1* T. Kaijalainen,2 A. Saukkoriipi,2 J. L. Rickcord,1 and B. G. Spratt1

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom,1 Department of Microbiology, National Public Health Institute, PL 310, 90101 Oulu, Finland2

Received 19 August 2005/ Returned for modification 19 October 2005/ Accepted 13 December 2005

Streptococcus pneumoniae strains which fail to produce a polysaccharide capsule are commonly isolated from carriage and disease contexts. Here we use a multilocus approach to distinguish genuine nontypeable pneumococci from closely related nontypeable streptococcal isolates in a data set of 121 untypeable pneumococci from nasopharyngeal swabs and middle ear fluid of Finnish children and demonstrate that 70 of these belong to a pneumococcal lineage which has lost its capsular locus. Strains of this relatively old lineage include sequence types 344, 448, and 449. Comparison with the multilocus sequence typing database shows that strains of this lineage have spread intercontinentally and have been isolated from carriage, mucosal, and invasive disease. Furthermore we note a particular association of this nontypeable lineage with outbreaks of conjunctivitis. The diversification and geographic spread of this lineage suggest that loss of capsule is not inconsistent with long-term persistence and raise questions about the capsule's role in pneumococcal transmission.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom. Phone: (020)75943622. Fax: (020) 75943693. E-mail: w.hanage{at}imperial.ac.uk.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2006, p. 743-749, Vol. 44, No. 3
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.44.3.743-749.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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