Pneumococcal Arthritis in a Child

Abstract

0196-4399/00 (see frontmatter) © 2009 Elsevier Clinical Microbiology Newsletter 31:12,2009 Streptococcus pneumoniae is a wellrecognized human pathogen, particularly in patients in the pediatric age group. Most pediatric pneumococcal infections are localized in the respiratory tract; however, more serious, but less common, disseminated infections are well documented (1,2). Septic arthritis is one of the more serious systemic infections caused by S. pneumoniae. In one study (3), S. pneumoniae was reported to cause up to 20% of bacterial joint infections in children, while in another study (4), a much lower incidence of 4% was reported. Regardless, the incidence of pneumococcal septic arthritis, as well as other pneumococcal infections, has been steadily decreasing because of the widespread use of Prevnar, the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) that was licensed for use in 2000 (1,5,6). This report describes a case of pneumococcal septic arthritis in a 15-month-old female who had been vaccinated with four doses of PCV7.