Abstract
To assess the importance of bacteremic pneumococcal disease among the population of one "average" American community, we studied all hospitalized patients who had Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from blood, CSF, pleural fluid, or ascitic fluid during the years 1978 through 1981 in Huntington, WVa, and environs. Seventeen patients were children younger than 13 years, and 71 were adults. The case fatality rate from bacteremic pneumococcal disease among adults was 30%, and among children it was 6%. It was much higher (88%) in adults older than 50 years with extrapulmonary disease. Approximately four fifths of the typed isolates from adults or children were types included in the current vaccine. Eighty-nine percent of the adults who died of pneumococcal infection had been candidates for pneumococcal vaccine, but only one patient had received vaccine, just before becoming ill with pneumococcal disease. These data provide a basis for widespread use of pneumococcal vaccine in high-risk groups.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
