Pneumococcal Bacteremia in Infants and Children: A Ten-Year Experience at the Cook County Hospital with Special Reference to the Pneumococcal Serotypes Isolated

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In a 10-yr period, 305 hospitalized children with a pneumococcal bacteremia were identified. From these children 293 pneumococcal isolates were serotyped, and 90% belonged to a group of 11 prevalent serotypes. These 11 serotypes were the prevalent serotypes isolated from children in all disease categories, and from children with sickle-cell disease. No more than 1% of the isolates belonged to any 1 of the other serotypes. A pneumococcal vaccine effective against these 11 prevalent serotypes should be optimal for use in children. Case fatality rates were noted in children with meningitis (13%) and children with sickle-cell disease (20%). A polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine might not have prevented most pneumococcal meningitis, as 80% of these children were less than 1 yr old, an age when polysaccharide vaccines are poor antigens. Since many children with sickle-cell disease acquired their pneumococcal bacteremia at an older age, they should benefit from such a vaccine.