Distribution of capsule and O types in Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: A meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence to inform potential vaccine coverage

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Source: PLOS Medicine

Original: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004879...

Published: 2026-01-12T14:00:00Z

Klebsiella pneumoniae causes approximately 20% of cases of neonatal sepsis with a mortality rate of around 40%. A vaccine administered to pregnant women could protect ≥70% of cases by targeting capsular (K) or lipopolysaccharide (O) antigens. A meta-analysis of genome-wide predicted serotype prevalence in Africa and South Asia showed that KL1, KL15, KL12 types account for 49% of cases. Top-20 K types cover 72.9% (95% CI: 69.4–76.5%) of isolates, mainly in Asia. The top-5 O types (O2, O2afg, O2ac, O2aeh, O4) cover 86.2% to 99% in the studied countries. K and O types vary geographically and by strain, supporting the development of polyvalent vaccines. A 20-valent K vaccine would achieve high coverage.