2014 outbreak at US-Mexico border linked to S. pneumoniae serotype 5

A severe disease outbreak among unaccompanied children from Central America who crossed the United States-Mexico border between June and July 2014 appears to have been caused primarily by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 5 and influenza, according to a study presented at the CDC’s Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service conference in Atlanta.

More than 57,000 unaccompanied children from Central America crossed the border in 2014, and in June and July, 16 unaccompanied children, aged 13 to 17 years, were hospitalized with acute respiratory illness, according to Matthew Westercamp, PhD, of the CDC’s Respiratory Diseases Branch. This prompted a four-state investigation that assessed disease transmission.

Researchers found that among the children hospitalized for respiratory infections, S. pneumoniae was detected in six of 14 who underwent blood cultures. Further genetic analysis indicated that all of the S. pneumoniae infections belonged to serotype 5, multilocus sequence type 289. Of nine children tested for influenza viruses, four were positive.

Among 48 nonhospitalized children with influenza-like illness, 46 had at least one respiratory pathogen, including: Haemophilus influenzae (n = 29), rhinoviruses (n = 21), enteroviruses (n = 19) and influenza viruses (n = 13). Of the 812 asymptomatic children from whom nasopharyngeal swabs were collected to assess S. pneumoniae carriage, 95% had sufficient culture growth, and 23% yielded pneumococcus. Of these, 38% were serotype 5. Two related disease clusters were identified through whole-genome sequencing. – by Jen Byrne

For more information:
Westercamp M, et al. Getting Under the Skin: Socioeconomic Disparities in Invasive Pneumoccocal Disease among Children <5 years old, Selected States, 2013. Presented at: Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service conference; April 20-23, 2015; Atlanta.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.