Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes isolated from the middle ear of Mexican children diagnosed with acute otitis media

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the etiology and the serotypes of S. pneumoniae (Sp) in Mexican children with acute otitis media (AOM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study includessamples frompatientsdiagnosed with AOM at the Federico Gomez Children's Hospital of Mexico (2002-2003),with positive culture for Sp bacteriologically confirmed in middle ear fluid obtained by tympanocentesis. All Sp were serotyped. A total of 138 samples from 135 children with AOM were included. RESULTS: Sp was isolated in 72 samples from 70 children. Sixty (85.7%) were previously healthy and 10 (14.3%) were immunocompromised. The most common serotypes were 6B and 19F (16.67%), and 6 A, 14 and 23F (15.27%). CONCLUSION: The distribution of serotypes among the children with AOM in the study is similar to that reported in developing cities, and 63.9% of the isolated serotypes are found to be included in the 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), 68.1% in the 10-Valent PCV and 83.3% in 13-Valent PCV.