Scientists Advance Universal Pneumococcal Vaccine Research

British scientists have utilized reverse vaccinology and genomic analysis of over 20,000 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates to identify three candidate genes for a universal vaccine against pneumonia and meningitis.

The research aims to overcome the limitations of current vaccines, which target only a subset of the 100-odd serotypes and often lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant, non-vaccine strains.

The team selected candidate proteins based on three criteria: surface accessibility, low similarity to human proteins to prevent autoimmune responses, and the ability to elicit robust, durable immunity.