Pneumococcal bacteraemia—a study of 75 black children

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Abstract
SUMMARY Seventy-five black children from 0 to ten years old with pneumococcal bacteraemia, who were hospitalized during a one-year period, were studied retrospectively from case records. Half the children were under one year and 68% under two years of age. Sixty-seven per cent were malnourished, 34% severely so. The overall case-fatality-rate was 26.7% being highest in children presenting in autumn (52.4%) and in those with meningitis (54.5%)' severe protein-calorie malnutrition (42.8%) or associated infections (61.5%). Host defences against the pneumococcus are discussed, especially in relation to their deficiencies in malnourished and young children. Special mention is made of early-onset neonatal sepsis due to the pneumococcus and of the association between pneumococcal bacteraemia and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. This study indicates that pneumococcal bacteraemia is a serious infection in children, especially in those with malnutrition and other infections. In view of the emergence of penicillin-resistant strains, its treatment may become more difficult in the future.