Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T17:37:21.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

145 - Pneumococcus

from Part XVIII - Specific Organisms – Bacteria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2013

Maurice A. Mufson
Affiliation:
Marshall University
David Schlossberg
Affiliation:
Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) remains no less important today as a pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia, meningitis, and acute otitis media than it has for the past several decades for several important reasons: (1) pneumococcal diseases, especially pneumococcal pneumonia, occur commonly; (2) invasive (bacteremic) pneumococcal diseases carry high case fatality rates; and (3) penicillin-resistant and multidrug-resistant strains continue to spread increasingly worldwide. Streptococcus pneumoniae ranks first as a cause of community-acquired pneumonia and second as a cause of bacterial meningitis and as an important bacterial pathogen of otitis media among infants and children. The high incidence and often fatal outcome of invasive disease despite prompt and appropriate antibiotic treatment provided the rationale for development and subsequent licensure in the United States of two effective polysaccharide vaccines, namely a 23-valent vaccine comprising 23 polysaccharides of the most common serotypes that are associated with community-acquired pneumonia in adults and children older than 2 years and a 7-valent conjugate vaccine comprising 7 polysaccharides, each conjugated to a carrier protein, of the 7 most common serotypes associated with community-acquired pneumonia and otitis media in infants and children younger than 2 years. The 7-valent conjugate vaccine is included now in the routine immunization program of all infants and children.

The emergence and continued frequent occurrence of penicillin resistant and multidrug-resistant strains underlie the urgency for the prevention of S. pneumoniae infection, especially in persons at high risk of serious disease.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×