Pneumococcal surface protein A of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Colombian children.

Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) elicits protection in mice against fatal bacteremia and sepsis caused by genetically diverse pneumococci and protects against carriage and lung infection. We determined the PspA families of invasive isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from Colombian children <5 years of age. That 97.5% of Colombian isolates belong to PspA families 1 and 2 supports the hypothesis that a human PspA vaccine covering a few PspA families could be broadly effective.