Upsurge of conjugate vaccine serotype 4 invasive pneumococcal disease clusters among adults experiencing homelessness in California, Colorado, and New Mexico

Abstract

After 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in the United States in 2000, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) due to serotype 4 greatly decreased in children and adults. Starting in 2013, serotype 4 IPD incidence increased among adults within 3 of 10 Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites. Of 325 serotype 4 cases among adults in 2010–2018, 36% were persons experiencing homelessness (PEH); incidence of serotype 4 IPD among PEH was 100–300 times higher than in the general population within these 3 areas. Genome sequencing for isolates recovered 2015–2018 (n = 246), revealed that increases in serotype 4 IPD were driven by lineages ST10172, ST244, and ST695. Within each lineage, clusters of near-identical isolates indicated close temporal relatedness. Increases in serotype 4 IPD were limited to Colorado, California, and New Mexico, with highest increases among PEH, who were at increased risk for exposure to and infections caused by these strains.