Unraveling the seasonal epidemiology of pneumococcus

Abstract

Infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae—including invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs)—remain a significant public health concern worldwide. The marked winter seasonality of IPDs is a striking, but still enigmatic aspect of pneumococcal epidemiology in nontropical climates. Here we confronted age-structured dynamic models of carriage transmission and disease with detailed IPD incidence data to test a range of hypotheses about the components and the mechanisms of pneumococcal seasonality. We find that seasonal variations in climate, influenza-like illnesses, and interindividual contacts jointly explain IPD seasonality. We show that both the carriage acquisition rate and the invasion rate vary seasonally, acting in concert to generate the marked seasonality typical of IPDs. We also find evidence that influenza-like illnesses increase the invasion rate in an age-specific manner, with a more pronounced effect in the elderly than in other demographics. Finally, we quantify the potential impact of seasonally timed interventions, a type of control measures that exploit pneumococcal seasonality to help reduce IPDs. Our findings shed light on the epidemiology of pneumococcus and may have notable implications for the control of pneumococcal infections.

Meteorological impact on the COVID-19 pandemic: A study across eight severely affected regions in South America

“…Since its first reported case, COVID-19 has spread rapidly, more alarming is that with the advent of winter, other seasonal viruses will also begin to disseminate quickly ( Domenech de Celles et al, 2019 ; Ferguson et al, 2010 ; Lipsitch and Viboud, 2009 ). In particularly, in the following July, there was a continuing decreasing trend of absolute humidity.…”

Association of Influenza Activity and Environmental Conditions With the Risk of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease

“…Our choice of these exposures reflects both the availability of measurements and their identification as variables associated with the seasonality of both influenza and invasive bacterial respiratory disease. 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 In each region, we obtained data from the weather station of the largest airport serving the area. If airport weather stations were unavailable or were missing data, we used the next closest station.…”

“…13 The question of whether, and how, influenza and other respiratory viral infections may enhance the risk of subsequent pneumonia and invasive bacterial disease has been investigated by many groups, including our own. 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 The question is important for disease control policy and practice: if influenza is indeed a causal factor in pneumonia and IPD, then prevention of IPD becomes an important and underappreciated benefit of seasonal influenza programs.…”

Das neue Verständnis pulmonaler Infektionen

“…Based on the fundamental knowledge on the spectrum of pathogens of communityacquired and nosocomial lung infections, novel approaches in pathogen diagnostics and lung microbiome analytics are discussed and the applicability with respect to the current clinical routine is questioned. 10,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]3 Tagen in beiden Gruppen und fehlende konkrete Handlungsanweisungen, wie im Fall eines Virusnachweises zu verfahren ist [26]. In einer anderen Arbeit von Shengchen et al konnte hingegen eine Reduktion der stationären Verweildauer und der Therapiedauer mit einem Antibiotikum um jeweils 1 Tag unter Verwendung eines Multiplex-PCR-Verfahrens als "point-of-care-testing" (POCT) im Vergleich zu klassischen Routinetestungen gezeigt werden [28].…”