Monday, 2nd June Lancefield International Symposium for Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases 2025

Keynote Speakers: 

Prof Jonathan Carapetis - Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
Prof Anna Seale - BMGF, United States
Prof Andrea Beaton - Cincinnati Children's Hospital, United States

• Break the (streptococcal) Chain: Translating Evidence Into Action for RHD Control - Andrea Beaton
• Priorities for global control of Strep APriorities for global control of Strep A - Jonathan Carapetis
• A verbal autopsy study of paediatric rheumatic heart disease mortality in Malawi  - Treasure B Mkaliainga
• Analysis of the global Group B Streptococcus pangenome: insights into genetic diversity and evaluation of potential vaccine targets of GBS - Nida Javaid
• A decade-long genomic lesson learned from Streptococcus pneumoniae: evasion and vaccine design - Stephanie Lo
• Defining the Antibodiome for Group A Streptococcus using StrepScan PhiPseq technology - Reuben McGregor

Keynote Speaker:

Dr Thushan De Silva - University of Sheffield, UK

• Group A Streptococcus epidemiology and immunity in a high burden setting: insights from community studies in The Gambia - Thushan de Silva
• The development of early life natural immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes: focus on conserved vaccine antigens in a high burden setting - Alexander J Keeley
• Low-dose interleukin-2 therapy: A transformative approach for the management of autoimmune complications associated with Streptococcus pyogenes infections - Ailin Lepletier
• Rapid AI-assisted hand-held echocardiography detection and analysis of rheumatic heart disease - Kelsey Brown
• A new mouse model of rheumatic heart disease? - Juan Manuel Diaz
• Identification of a perturbed T cell compartment that underlies rheumatic fever pathogenesis in a trans-Tasman study - Francis M Middleton

Keynote Speakers: 

Prof Annaleisa Anderson - Pfizer, United States 
Prof Per Fischer - Minervax, Denmark

• A big picture view of progress towards a vaccine against Streptococcus pyogenes - Andrew Steer
• Progress towards licensure of a protein-based vaccine against Group B Streptococcus - Per Fischer
• The road of GSK Strep A vaccine to FTiH - Danilo Gomes Moriel
• Rapua te mea nagro ka tau- a qualitative, Indigenous-informed approach to vaccine development. - Anneka Anderson

• TREAT-SC a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of early short course oral dexamethasone for the treatment of sydenham’s chorea in children - Kathryn Roberts
• The immune landscape of the tonsils: a critical site for understanding Group A Streptococcus infections   - Anna Bergonzini
• Distribution of serotype and protein vaccine targets in disease-causing GBS in the UK (2009-2023): implications for GBS vaccine rollout - Elita Jauneikaite
• Three-piece suit: M and M-like proteins as a virulence trio in GAS infections - Corentin Bruyns
• A novel approach to assess antigen specific Fc-mediated antibody functions induced by Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis - Kaneka Chheng
• Host inflammation plays a critical role in SpeB transcriptional regulation in Group A Streptococcus - Stephanie Guerra
• The stress of carrying CRISPR-Cas - Dorina Haider
• Experimental human infection with Streptococcus pyogenes alters the magnitude and phenotype of vaccine antigen-specific memory B cells - Holly A Fryer
• Adjuvant optimisation is crucial for protective efficacy and immunogenicity of the Group A Streptococcus vaccine candidates Combo#5 and VAX-A1 - Johanna Richter

Note: Posters are still to be allocated to their specific sessions. Check back closer to the Meeting for the final allocations.

• Outcomes after concomitant mitral and aortic rheumatic valve surgery in the young. - Hilary Hardefeldt
• High rates of group A streptococcal pharyngitis among a longitudinal cohort of school-aged children in remote Western Australia - Janessa Pickering
• Setting the scene for Group A Streptococcus vaccine studies: The complete clinical spectrum of severe acute disease is present in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand - Andrew Fox-Lewis
• School and clinical-based experimentation to ascertain Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A)  transmission - Stephanie L Enkel
• Molecular epidemiology of superficial Streptococcus pyogenes infections in the SToP trial Western Australia - Asha C Bowen
• Effect of prior antibiotics use on blood culture positivity in children under 5 years with suspected invasive pneumococcal diseases in rural Gambia - Muhammed Wally
• Antimicrobial effect of photo activated disinfection on streptococcus from endodontic infections - Dexton Johns
• Analysis of the scabies associated microbiota demonstrates a decrease in diversity and a shift to opportunistic pathogenic bacteria - Katja Fischer
• Differential Immune Response in Children to Throat Specialist Versus Generalist Group A Streptococci - Debra E Bessen
• Update on invasive group A streptococcus hypervirulent M1_UK clone in Canada 2024 - Gregory J Tyrrell
• Epidemiology and clinical research on group a streptococcus: a public health perspective - Aliyu Evuti Haruna
• Expansion scarlet fever-associated mobile genetic elements among group A Streptococcus in Taiwan - Chuan Chiang-Ni
• Cracking the nut of clinical trials to test interventions for life threatening gram-positive toxin-mediated syndromes - Hadar Mudrik-Zohar
• A systematic review of asymptomatic colonisation with Group A Streptococcus in low and middle income countries - Hermaleigh Townsley
• Tracking the relationship between community Strep A infections and Acute Rheumatic Fever in Auckland, New Zealand: 2018-2024 - Julie Bennett
• Effecting control of a widespread emm11 GAS outbreak linked to community healthcare services in the East of England, 2023-25 - Theresa Lamagni
• A molecular epidemiology of invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) infection detected within the Hunter New England local health district (HNELHD) of New South Wales (NSW) from 2007 to 2017 - Pappu K Mandal
• Cross-sectional analysis of streptococcal serology in a global cohort of ARF and Healthy Children - Ndate Fall
• Predictors of Clinical Outcomes in Acute Rheumatic Fever in the Contemporary Era: The Role of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate - Renata Mendoza
• Group A Streptococcal Infections during 2022-2023 in Columbus, Ohio, Possible Lessons in Testing and Treatment - Guliz Erdem
• Invasive group A streptococcus and respiratory viral coinfections in Alberta, Canada from 2018 to 2023.  - Skyler Ngo
• Expansion of emm92 invasive GAS infections in the United States, 2015-2022 - Yuan Li
• Historical Evidence for Streptococcus pyogenes as the Causative Agent of Acute Rheumatic Fever: A Structured Narrative Review  - Scott Wirth
• A Proposed Chatbot as a Tool for Acute Rheumatic Fever Screening Across Four Countries *On behalf of the Acute Rheumatic Fever Diagnostic Network (ARC Network) - Isabella Moreira Gonzalez Fonesca, MD
• Genomic epidemiology of S. pyogenes carriage and pharyngitis isolates from the STAMPS Australian paediatric surveillance study - Jasmyn Voss
• Population pharmacokinetics of penicillin G: insights into increased clearance at low concentrations to guide development of improved long-acting formulations for syphilis and prevention of rheumatic fever - Laurens Manning
• Invasive group A streptococcal infections in Australian adults – a descriptive cohort and cost burden study - Jessie J Goldsmith
• Antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from sputum of patients presenting at patan hospital - Saugat Bhandari
•   Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Blood Culture Isolates - Anil Ojha
• Asymptomatic throat and vaginal carriage and household transmission of beta-haemolytic streptococci during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study - Kirsi Gröndahl-Yli-Hannuksela
• Optimising the detection of Streptococcus pyogenes events in surveillance studies: intensive swabbing and PCR within the SpyCATS study - Edwin P Armitage
• The development of a national surveillance system for Invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) in Canada  - Courtney Primeau
• Household molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes carriage and infection in The Gambia - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• M1 and done? Converging on a globally representative set of more and less invasive group a streptococcal strains - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• Invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) surveillance gets the green light: a clear-cut microbiological specimen sterility framework for comprehensive and consistent laboratory surveillance. - Andrew Fox-Lewis
• Challenges in acute rheumatic fever management A case of severe carditis and recurrence - Sara Sary Eldim Campanati
• NEARER SCAN evaluation of a task-sharing echocardiographic active case finding program for rheumatic heart disease in Australia and Timor-Leste: interim findings from a hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation study - Joshua R Francis
• The Emergence and Impact of M1_UK on Invasive Group A Streptococcus Disease in Aotearoa New Zealand - Anna Vesty
• Prevalence, risk factors, and strain distribution of group A Streptococcus carriage among Indigenous children in the Southwest United States - Catherine Sutcliffe
• Inference of Streptococcus pyogenes transmission pathway parameters from analyses of whole genome sequence data of isolates collected in a high burden setting - Rebecca H Chisholm
• The rise of invasive group A streptococcal infection in a quaternary Australian hospital - Adam Jenney
• What’s new in secondary prophylaxis with benzathine penicillin G? - Laurens Manning
• Epidemiology of Group A Streptococcal Skin Infections in New Zealand - Krishtika KM Mala
• Large chromosomal rearrangements affect protein expression and are associated with invasive disease in Streptococcus pyogenes - Matthew A Davies
• Severe GAS infections in pregnancy and the peripartum period in South Auckland, New Zealand, 2023.  - Rachel Webb
• A collaborative inter-departmental study confirming the usefulness of high-resolution WGS data in informing Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) outbreaks - Kartyk Moganeradj
• Diverse diagnostic and management approaches for acute rheumatic fever in Australia and New Zealand - Anna P Ralph
• Molecular epidemiology of group A streptococci invasive infections (iGAS) in Italy- years 2023-2024 - Giovanni Gherardi
• The Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI) Urban Pharyngitis Surveillance Study - John Hart
• Severe paediatric invasive group A streptococcal infections at Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland, Jan 2023 - Jan 2025 - Rachel H Webb
• Understanding current clinical guidance about delivery of benzathine penicillin G - Rosemary Wyber
• Investigating differential maternal GBS carriage according to ethnicity: cross-sectional analysis nested within a multicentre randomised clinical trial in England - Theresa Lamagni
• Streptococcus agalactiae bacteremia and the utility of time  to positivity -  an observational study in southern Sweden - Torgny Sunnerhagen
• Stopping neonatal GBS disease - antibiotics, antibodies, or all of the above? - Stephanie J Schrag
• Genomic epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance and virulome of invasive Group B Streptococcus isolates in Hunter Region, NSW, Australia.  - Syeda Naqvi
• Genomic characteristics and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus agalactiae isolates causing infections and asymptomatic carriage in Southwest Finland - Natalie Tomnikov
• Evaluation of CRISPR elements in group B Streptococcus belonging to ST17 from Brazil - Leandro Simoes
• A 15-year single-centre clinical and genomic analysis of late-onset Group B Streptococcus infection. - Lea Cavalli
• Microbiological surveillance on invasive Group B streptococcal infections in neonates and infants, Italy, years 2020–2024 - Roberta Creti
• Report of a host-generalist group B Streptococcus lineage (CC103) associated with severe disease in primate and human in Brazil: the potential threat to public health - Tatiana Pinto
• Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis carriage and infection epidemiology and risk factors in The Gambia  - Edwin Armitage
• Household molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis carriage and infection in The Gambia - Gabrielle de Crombrugghe
• Descriptive analysis of incidence, hospital acquisition and health inequalities in invasive group C and G streptococcal infections England, 2016 to 2023 - Rebecca L Guy
• Distribution of pneumococcal serotypes causing invasive disease and carriage in rural Gambia in the post-vaccination era - Baleng Mahama Wutor
• Trends in Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Nepalese Children: Evaluating the Impact of 10-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction (2014–2023) - Meeru Gurung
• Genomic insights into horizontal transfer of macrolide resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae via mobile integrative conjugative elements following azithromycin mass drug administration in Malawi - Akuzike Kalizang'oma
• High propensity for multidrug-resistant pneumococcal aerosol shedding among adults living with HIV in Malawi: A Microbial Diversity Analysis - Lusako L Sibale
• Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Facial Infections Caused by Streptococcus spp. - Hyun-Ha Chang
• Streptococcal brain abscesses: assessing a decade of trends in England between 2014 and 2023 - Rebecca L Guy
• Genomic Characterization and Classification of Streptococcus oralis Using Next-Generation Sequencing - Sima Tokajian
• Setting the standards in remote Aboriginal community-led trials evaluating subcutaneous benzathine penicillin G for rheumatic heart disease  - Rachel Burgess
• Cultural safety training for new zealand secondary prophylaxis providers for rheumatic fever - Monleigh MM Muliaumasealii
• Gaining community insight into Group A streptococcus isolate research and care - Tira TPP Phillipson-puna
• Whitia kia ora indigenous health care model for rheumatic fever - Monleigh MM Muliaumasealii
• Household transmission of Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A): a review to inform potential environmental health interventions for remote living Aboriginal communities at high risk of rheumatic fever - Stephanie L Enkel
• Taking an environmental health approach to preventing Strep A infections and Acute Rheumatic Fever - Asha C Bowen
• Subcutaneous injections of penicillin: Convenient and effective treatment for Māori, Pacific Peoples and their whānau in preventing rheumatic heart disease - Julie Cooper
• Check4Strep a community-based pilot project to understand and respond to infection with Group A Streptococcus - Vicki Wade
• Parent Led Sample Collection: An Innovative Method for Enhancing Participant Recruitment in a Research Surveillance Study During a Pandemic - Elizabeth EN Negus
• Determining the impact of acute rheumatic fever on children's quality of life - Emma Ndagire
• Identifying environmental risk factors for acute rheumatic fever (arf) - Ela Monteiro
• Surveillance of Streptococus pyogenes induced pharyngitis in children from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds via collaboration with a local health service - Ciara Baker
• Addressing rheumatic heart disease in the Pacific - Joseph H Kado
• The experience of streptococcal pharyngitis human challenge trial participants - Jane Oliver
• Infectious diseases associated with inadequate housing and Healthy Living Practice capacity in Australia: a systematic review - Rosemary Wyber
• The Wash Up – Understanding Specifications for Washing Clothes and Bedding to Reduce Skin Infections: An Integrated Approach - Kate Summer
• Transmission of Strep A via Fabric Fomites and the Role of Laundering: Knowns and Unknowns - Kate Summer
• The human side of RHD: connecting personal stories to scientific solutions - Anu Gomanju
• Significance of community engagement strategies for group a streptococcus surveillance. researchers’ experience from a pacific island context - Roneel RC Chandra
• Rapua te mea ngaro ka tau: culturally responsive governance applied to vaccine development - Shannon Leilua
• Communication Strategies Used to Maximise Community-Based Participation in the Sore Throat Study in Perth and Melbourne - Elizabeth J Negus
• Moorditj marp (strong skin): strengthening skin health outcomes through community driven research and translation initiatives - Asha A Bowen
• Pneumococcal antibiotic resistance trends over time in invasive pneumococcal diseases in rural Gambia   - Molfa MM Minteh
• Group A Streptococcus emm1/ST28: an emerging hipervirulent threat in Brazil - André Rio Tinto
• Diagnostic accuracy of the 2023 world heart federation screening criteria for rheumatic heart disease in a high-risk population - Joselyn Rwebembera
• Implementation of whole genome sequencing (WGS) replacing targeted emm gene sequencing in informing Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) outbreaks - Kartyk Moganeradj
• Detection of group B Streptococcus carriage among pregnant women by a cost-effective and faster approach based on MALDI-TOF MS - Tatiana Pinto
• Close evolutionary relationship between recent serotype M1 group A streptococcus isolates in Scotland and Iceland - Randall J Olsen
• Population genomics of Streptococcus pyogenes in patients admitted at a tertiary hospital in Malawi (2012–2023) - Akuzike Kalizang'oma
• Junk or adjunct? The place of protein synthesis inhibitors for treatment of severe invasive Streptococcus pyogenes infections in a time of rising clindamycin resistance - Louise Kelly
• Molecular Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Group A Streptococcus Isolates from Cape Town, South Africa:  Comparative analysis with High- and Low-Income countries - Kimona K Rampersadh
• Hospitalisation rate of clinical pneumococcal disease among under-five-children in Haryana, India: A seven-year multicentric bidirectional surveillance study - Madhu Gupta
•   Impact of Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) on meningitis in Nepalese children.     - Bhishma Pokhrel