Editorial Response: Multidrug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae: An Opportunity to Further Understand Pneumococcal Ecology and to Better Predict Intervention Outcomes

Pneumococcal infections are still endemic in human popu-lations as a major cause of acute respiratory infections, in-cluding otitis media. Acute mortality from pneumococcal in-fection has fallen dramatically, particularly in the developing world, since the introduction of penicillin and other antibiotics. However, if antibiotic-resistant strains of pneumococci continue to spread, there is a very real threat that mortality and mor-bidity rates will rise substantially, even in the developed world. Fortunately, with the availability of conjugate pneumococcal vaccines, it may be possible to control, if not eliminate, the spread of pneumococci, including antibiotic-resistant strains, in human populations. See article by Craig et al. on pages 1257±64. Serotype 14 is the most prevalent invasive pneumococcal se-rotype in developed and developing countries [1, 2] and is no