Review series
Lung infections
5
Streptococcus pneumoniae
J R Catterall
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
 |
Introduction |
|---|
Streptococcus pneumoniae was
identified as a major respiratory pathogen shortly after its isolation
in 1881.1 Despite a century of intensive study, and
antibiotics which readily kill the organism, respiratory tract
infections caused by the pneumococcus remain a formidable problem.
S pneumoniae is the commonest cause of
community acquired pneumonia, accounting for up to 70% of cases in
hospital.2 3 Pneumococcal pneumonia is associated with bacteraemia more frequently than other bacterial
pneumonias4 and mortality from bacteraemic pneumococcal
pneumonia during the first few days of hospitalisation has changed
little since the pre-antibiotic era.5 6 There is also
evidence, from the UK and other countries, that the number of cases of
pneumococcal bacteraemia is rising.7 8 In the third world
five million children under the age of five die each year from acute
lower respiratory tract infections in which S
pneumoniae is probably the primary agent,9 and
patients with HIV infection and AIDS also have a
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