The prevalence of drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Atlanta.

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of illness, and the emergence of drug-resistant strains threatens to complicate the management of pneumococcal infections. We conducted a laboratory-based surveillance for drug-resistant S. pneumoniae among patients with invasive pneumococcal infections in Atlanta. METHODS: From January through October 1994, pneumococcal isolates from 431 patients with invasive disease in metropolitan Atlanta were serotyped and tested to determine their susceptibility to various antimicrobial agents. Susceptibility to the antimicrobial agents was defined according to guidelines established by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. RESULTS: The annual incidence of invasive pneumococcal infection was 30 cases per 100,000 population. Isolates from 25 percent of the patients were resistant to penicillin (7 percent were highly resistant), and isolates from 26 percent were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (7 percent highly resistant). Fifteen percent of the isolates were resistant to erythromycin, 9 percent to cefotaxime (4 percent were highly resistant), and 25 percent to multiple drugs. Drug-resistant pneumococci were found in both children and adults. Children under six years of age were more likely than older children and adults to have isolates resistant to multiple drugs or cefotaxime. Whites were more likely than blacks to have invasive pneumococcal infections caused by drug-resistant organisms. Among white children younger than six years, 41 percent of the S. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to penicillin. CONCLUSIONS: Drug-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae are common among both children and adults in Atlanta. Although blacks had a higher incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections than whites, whites were more likely to be infected with a drug-resistant isolate. Control of drug-resistant pneumococci will require more judicious use of antimicrobial agents and wider use of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.

Reduction in the incidence of human listeriosis in the United States. Effectiveness of prevention efforts? The Listeriosis Study Group.

BACKGROUND: Food-borne transmission is now recognized as a major cause of human listeriosis. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of prevention efforts, listeriosis rates before interventions were initiated in 1989 were compared with more recent rates (1990 through 1993). DESIGN: From 1989 through 1993, multistate, laboratory-based active surveillance was conducted to identify all cases in which Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from cultures or ordinarily sterile sites in an aggregate population of more than 19 million. SETTING: All laboratories serving acute care hospitals in up to nine surveillance areas in the United States. INTERVENTIONS: In 1989, a well-publicized case report of listeriosis linked to processed poultry led US regulatory agencies to enforce aggressive food monitoring policies and prompted industry to invest in cleanup efforts. In May 1992, consumer guidelines for listeriosis prevention were disseminated. OUTCOME MEASURES: Cases of perinatal and nonperinatal listeriosis. RESULTS: The rate of listeriosis decreased in all surveillance areas. Projection of these rates to the US population suggests an estimated 1965 cases and 481 deaths occurred in 1989 compared with an estimated 1092 cases and 248 deaths in 1993, a 44% and 48% reduction in illness and death, respectively. Among adults 50 years of age and older, rates declined from 16.2 per 1 million in 1989 to 10.2 per 1 million in 1993 (P = .02). Perinatal disease decreased from 17.4 cases per 100,000 births in 1989 to 8.6 cases per 100,000 births in 1993 (P = .003). Three serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, and 4b) of L monocytogenes accounted for more than 96% of cases during each year of the study (1989 through 1993). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of listeriosis in study areas was substantially lower in 1993 than in 1989. The temporal association of this reduction with industry, regulatory, and educational efforts suggests these measures were effective.

Carriage of Haemophilus influenzae type b in children after widespread vaccination with conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines.

Rates of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease in children decreased very rapidly after licensure of Hib conjugate vaccines. A role for a vaccine-related reduction in nasopharyngeal carriage of Hib has been suggested. We studied oropharyngeal carriage of Hib and vaccination rates in a population of 2- to 5-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta. Among 584 children 75% were vaccinated with an Hib conjugate vaccine, 17% had not been vaccinated and 8% had no vaccination records available. Forty-one percent of the children were colonized with H. influenzae. One child was colonized with Hib. Hib carriage (0.17%; upper 95% confidence interval boundary, 0.97%) was substantially lower than the estimates of Hib carriage from prior studies of children who had not received Hib conjugate vaccines. Our data are consistent with a decline in Hib carriage induced by widespread use of conjugate Hib vaccines, which may have contributed to the decline of Hib disease in United States children.

Decline of childhood Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease in the Hib vaccine era.

OBJECTIVE: Effective Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines were first licensed for use in US children at least 18 months old in December 1987 and for infants at least 2 months old in October 1990. We evaluated trends in Hib disease associated with licensure of Hib conjugate vaccines. DESIGN: Data from two sources, an intensive laboratory-based active surveillance system and the National Bacterial Meningitis Reporting System (NBMRS), were used separately to evaluate disease incidence. Data from vaccine manufacturers on Hib vaccine doses distributed in the United States were compared with trends in Hib disease incidence. RESULTS: The age-specific incidence of Hib disease among children less than 5 years old decreased by 71% from 37 per 100,000 persons in 1989 to 11 per 100,000 persons in 1991 (active surveillance data). Haemophilus influenzae meningitis incidence decreased by 82% between 1985 and 1991 (NBMRS data). Increases in doses of Hib vaccine distributed in the United States coincided with steep declines in Hib disease. Both surveillance systems showed decreased rates of Hib disease in infants less than 1 year old before vaccine was licensed for use in this age group. Haemophilus influenzae type b disease incidence in persons at least 12 years old and pneumococcal meningitis incidence in children less than 5 years old did not change substantially during the same period; therefore, decreased Hib disease in children less than 5 years old is not likely to be explained solely by changes in surveillance sensitivity or decreases in bacterial disease due to changes in medical practice. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that conjugate vaccines have already had a marked impact on the incidence of Hib disease in the United States, preventing an estimated 10,000 to 16,000 cases of Hib disease in 1991. The decline of disease in infants less than 1 year old before licensure for this age group warrants further investigation.

Role of foods in sporadic listeriosis. I. Case-control study of dietary risk factors. The Listeria Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To identify dietary risk factors for sporadic listeriosis. DESIGN: Case-control study with blinded telephone interviews. SETTING: Multistate population of 18 million persons, November 1988 through December 1990. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty-five patients with culture-confirmed listeriosis and 376 control subjects matched for age, health care provider, and immunosuppressive condition. RESULTS: The annual incidence of invasive listeriosis was 7.4 cases per million population; 23% of the infections were fatal. Cases were more likely than matched controls to have eaten soft cheeses (odds ratio [OR], 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4 to 4.8; P = .002) or food purchased from store delicatessen counters (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.5; P = .04); 32% of sporadic disease could be attributed to eating these foods. Sixty-nine percent of cases in men and nonpregnant women occurred in cancer patients, persons with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, organ transplant recipients, or those receiving corticosteroid therapy. Among these immunosuppressed patients, eating undercooked chicken also increased the risk of listeriosis (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 9.2; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Foodborne transmission may account for a substantial portion of sporadic listeriosis. Prevention efforts should include dietary counseling of high-risk patients and continued monitoring of food production.

Role of foods in sporadic listeriosis. II. Microbiologic and epidemiologic investigation. The Listeria Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of foods in sporadic listeriosis. DESIGN: Microbiologic survey of foods collected from refrigerators of patients with listeriosis identified through active laboratory-based surveillance. Patient and food Listeria monocytogenes isolates were subtyped to identify foods contaminated with the same strain of L monocytogenes that caused illness in the patient; samples of these foods were obtained from the retail source. SETTING: Multistate population-based study conducted between 1988 and 1990. RESULTS: Listeria monocytogenes grew from at least one food specimen in the refrigerators of 79 (64%) of 123 listeriosis patients; 11% of more than 2000 food specimens collected in the study contained L monocytogenes. Twenty-six (33%) of 79 refrigerators with foods that grew L monocytogenes contained at least one food isolate of the same strain as that in the corresponding patient, a frequency much higher than would be expected by chance (P less than .001). Multivariate analysis showed that of the food specimens that grew L monocytogenes, foods that were ready-to-eat, foods that grew L monocytogenes by a direct-plating method (a measure of the level of contamination), and foods that contained serotype 4b isolates were independently associated with an increased likelihood of containing the patient-matching strain. CONCLUSION: We identified specific food and L monocytogenes isolate characteristics--ready-to-eat foods, foods containing higher concentrations of L monocytogenes, and foods containing serotype 4b--which were associated with disease-causing strains. These results can provide guidance to industry and regulatory agencies in developing strategies to prevent listeriosis.

Efficacy of Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide-diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine in US children aged 18-59 months. Haemophilus Influenzae Vaccine Efficacy Study Group.

Vaccines prepared from the polyribosylribitol phosphate (PRP) capsule of Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) have not consistently shown good efficacy in protecting children aged over 18 months from invasive Hib disease. To evaluate the efficacy of conjugate-PRP vaccines in this age-group, and to compare their effect with that of PRP vaccines, a post-marketing case-control study was conducted among 10,400,000 persons. Between Oct 1, 1988, and Feb 28, 1990, 75 patients with Hib disease and 161 control children between 18 and 60 months of age were enrolled. To minimise potentially confounding socioeconomic variables, controls were selected either from among patients' classmates at their day-care centre or from among family acquaintances. 9 of the 75 patients had received the diphtheria toxoid conjugate Hib vaccine more than 2 weeks before onset of illness. After adjusting for age and household crowding, the efficacy of PRP Hib vaccine was 64% (95% Cl = -20,89) and efficacy of the diphtheria toxoid conjugate Hib vaccine was 74% (95% Cl = 30,90). The study shows that the protective efficacy of this conjugate vaccine is less than ideal and highlights the need for additional post-licensing studies to confirm and expand understanding of the efficacy of these new products.