Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteraemia in Belgium: differential characteristics in children and the elderly population and implications for vaccine use

The characteristics of bacteraemia with Streptococcus pneumoniae in children (0–4 years) and the elderly (≥60 years) were compared over a 7 year period (1994–2000). Of a total of 7927 isolates of invasive S. pneumoniae studied in the national reference laboratory, 74% ( n = 5837) were blood isolates. Of these 5837 S. pneumoniae bacteraemias, 843 (14%) occurred in children and 3144 (54%) in the elderly. The prevalence of penicillin resistance (MIC ≥ 0.1 mg/L) in bacteraemic isolates rose from 8.2% to 18.9% ( P = 0.03) in children and from 5.1% to 16.35% ( P = 0.001) in the elderly over the stud... Mehr ...