Klebsiella pneumoniae is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia, and it is estimated that a K. pneumoniae vaccine administered to pregnant women could potentially avert 80,000 neonatal deaths annually. However, there are many different capsular (K) and lipopolysaccharide (O) antigen types in the K. pneumoniae population, making vaccine design difficult. In this study, Thomas Stanton and colleagues use whole genome sequencing to evaluate the prevalence of K. pneumoniae K and O antigen types in 13 countries in Africa and South Asia to help inform vaccine design against neonatal sepsis. The authors find that a single vaccine against 20 K antigens could theoretically cover ≥70% of K. pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in Africa and South Asia.

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