Epidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Italian children

In Italy, data regarding the aetiological role, antibiotic resistance, and serotype distribution of isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae are scarce an d based on very small population samples. We found that S. pneumoniae cause d about 30% of lower respiratory tract infections and 15% of acute otitis m edia infections in Italian children. The incidence of S. pneumoniae meningi tis in subjects aged 0-4 y was 1.1 x 100000. In children <5 y of age with m eningitis, the most common S. pneumoniae serotypes were, in rank order, 14, 6, 23, 1 and 4; among 53 nasopharyngeal carriers the most frequent serotyp es were 6 and 19. The actual percentage of resistance of S. pneumoniae to p enicillin is 10.2%, while for macrolides it reaches 25.5%. More data on the distribution of serotypes in Italian children are urgently needed in order to obtain a better understanding of the impact of the new pneumococcal vac cines.