Fortnightly Review: The pneumococcal problem

BMJ 1996;312:1521-1525 (15 June)

Education and debate

Fortnightly Review: The pneumococcal problem

S K Obaro, honorary lecturer in paediatric immunology,^a M A Monteil, senior clinical lecturer,^a D C Henderson, principal immunologist ^a

^a Department of Immunology, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London SW10 9NH

Correspondence to: Dr Henderson.

Summary points

Mortality from bacteraemic pneumonia has remained unchanged at 25% over the last 40 years
Globally, Streptococcus pneumoniae causes over 1 million deaths in children under the age of 5 years
Antibiotic resistant strains of S pneumoniae are increasing world wide. In Spain over 50% of isolates are resistant to one or more antibiotics
Patients at increased risk of severe pneumococcal infection should be:

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