The S. pneumoniae srtA gene is widely expressed and highly conserved amongst isolated strains.10 Although S. pneumoniae TIGR4 has three additional putative sortase genes, srtB, srtC and srtD, these genes are absent in S. pneumoniae D39.11 Spn‐srtA has been shown to play a role in nasopharyngeal colonisation in chinchilla and adhesion to human pharyngeal cells in vitro.11, 12 Spn‐srtA is also important for pneumonia, bacteremia, and nasopharyngeal colonisation in mouse models, and it affects intraperitoneal immunity in mouse models. Here, SPN is linked to susceptibility to pneumonia measurement.