Current State of the Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsular Typing Problem

Diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae are a serious medical and social problem for healthcare systems of all leading countries around the globe. In this regard, the relevance of their laboratory diagnostics increases, as the effectiveness of therapeutic, preventive, and anti-epidemic measures depends on it. Currently, there is no universal method of intraspecific identification of S.pneumoniae, which simultaneously possess high specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility. For this purpose, new alternative strategies aimed at improving the quality of research are being developed. The review presents data from domestic and foreign publications (electronic search databases eLibrary.Ru, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Springerlink) on serotyping and genotyping of S.pneumoniae; the advantages and disadvantages of the methods are analyzed. Epidemiologically significant serotypes and widespread clonal complexes of S.pneumoniae circulating on the territory of the Russian Federation have been identified. The necessity of improving new methods of intraspecific typing of the pathogen is recognized.