Temporary increase of invasive infection due to Streptococcus pneumoniae in the Netherlands.

Abstract

In 1996 and 1997, the Netherlands Reference Laboratory for Bacterial Meningitis (Amsterdam) noted an increase in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from blood but not from CSF. To find an explanation for this increase, we determined the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease detected in the period 19911998 by 6 regional public health laboratories covering 18% of the Dutch population (15.4 million inhabitants in 1994). Subsequently, we related this incidence to the incidence of influenza and the severity of the winters in the study period. (aut. ref.