This study aimed to assess the impact of the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 13 (PCV13) on the molecular epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children from Andalusia. A population-based prospective surveillance study was conducted on IPD in children aged <14 years from Andalusia (2018–2020). Pneumococcal invasive isolates collected between 2006 and 2009 in the two largest tertiary hospitals in Andalusia were used as pre-PCV13 controls for comparison of serotype/genotype distribution. Overall IPD incidence rate was 3.55 cases per 100 000 in 2018; increased non-significantly to 4.20 cases per 100 000 in 2019 and declined in 2020 to 1.69 cases per 100 000 (incidence rate ratio 2020 vs. 2019: 0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20–0.89, P = 0.01). Proportion of IPD cases due to PCV13 serotypes in 2018–2020 was 28% (P = 0.0001 for comparison with 2006–2009). Serotypes 24F (15%) and 11A (8.3%) were the most frequently identified non-PCV13 serotypes (NVT) in 2018–2020. Penicillin- and/or ampicillin-resistant clones mostly belonged to clonal complex 156 (serotype 14-ST156 and ST2944 and serotype 11A-ST6521). The proportion of IPD cases caused by PCV13 serotypes declined significantly after the initiation of the PCV13 vaccination programme in 2016. Certain NVT, such as serotypes 24F and 11A, warrant future monitoring in IPD owing to invasive potential and/or antibiotic resistance rates.

This presentation introduces the current work of the Bioimage Corsortium and its international collaborators in the setting up of a new data base containing volumes of biological specimens.

The scope of the data that we will be organizing during the next three years is very broad, ranging from macromolecules to larger structures or even entire cells. The approach is designed to combine the desire to break many undesired formal barriers between the type of volume information produced at the different resolution levels whith, at the same time, the clear need of implementational flexibility required to appropriately handle different types of data.

The internal organization of the Bioimage Consortium clearly reflects the objectives presented above. In the first place, partners in the consortium have the scientific knowledge and projection in areas ranging from macromolecular structure to cell dynamics. These partners are then nucleated around two well-defined “servers”, one in Madrid, responsible for the work on macromolecular structures, and the other in Heildeberg, responsible for data more in the area of cell biology.