Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en Molecular Characterization of Streptococcus Pneumoniae from Patients Diagnosed with Pneumonia: Recommendation for Vaccination Program Microbiology and Anatomy Microbiology and Anatomy Original Research Original Research Background: Infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) have remained a significant public health concern worldwide. In developed countries, the highest prevalence of S. pneumonia has been reported among the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the coverage of genotypes in the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) in the Iranian elderly population.    Methods: A total of 41 isolates of S. pneumoniae were collected in the current retrospective cross-sectional study. The samples comprised 33 inpatients hospitalized for pneumococcal pneumonia and 8 outpatients. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay was performed to categorize the bacteria isolated into specific genotypes. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software, and the chi-square test was used to assess the statistical significance in percentages.    Results: A total of 68 genotypes were identified in this study, in which 39 isolates (57.3%) were associated with invasive infections. The most common genotypes were 6A/B [8 (19.5%)], 1 [7 (17.5%)], 14 [5 (12.2%)], and 19A [4 (9.75%)], respectively. The coverage rates of PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccines were 51.17%, 70.7%, and 99.9%, respectively. According to our results, the pneumococcal coverage rate of PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccine types is estimated to be 51.2%, 70.7%, and 99.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the trend of pneumococcal serotypes included in the PCV-13 was steadily increasing during the study period.    Conclusion: It can be concluded that the most circulating pneumococcal serotypes were in accordance with specific serotypes included in the PCV-13 vaccine types. Therefore, including PCV-13 vaccines in immunization programs against pneumococcus in the elderly can effectively reduce the rate of infections.   Pneumococcal Vaccine, Immunization, Elderly, Genotype 1148 1152 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2447-11&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Abdoulreza Esteghamati esteghamati@gmail.com 200319475328460074783 200319475328460074783 No Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali Nazari-Alam nazarialam.ali@gmail.com 200319475328460074784 200319475328460074784 No Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Ali Badamchi badamchiy12@gmail.com 200319475328460074785 200319475328460074785 No Children's Medical Center Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mahmood Faramarzi faramarzi.m@kar.iums.ac.ir 200319475328460074786 200319475328460074786 No 1. Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mehri Naghdalipour mehrialipoor@yahoo.com 200319475328460074787 200319475328460074787 No Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali Baradaran Moghadam ak.baradaran@gmail.com 200319475328460074788 200319475328460074788 No Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Khadijeh Khanaliha khanalihakh@yahoo.com 200319475328460074789 200319475328460074789 No Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ahmad Tavakoli ahmad.tavakoli66@gmail.com 200319475328460074790 200319475328460074790 No Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases & Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Rahbar rahbar@health.gov.ir 200319475328460074791 200319475328460074791 No Department of Microbiology, Iranian Reference Health Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Zeinab Fagheei Aghmiyuni fagheei.zeinab@yahoo.com 200319475328460074792 200319475328460074792 No Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, & Molecular Microbiology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran Shirin Sayyahfar sayyahfar.sh@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460074793 200319475328460074793 Yes Research Center of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran