Invasive pneumococcal disease in Australia, 2002

There were 2,271 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System in Australia in 2002; a rate of 11.5 cases per 100,000 population. The notification rate varied between states and territories and by geographical region with the highest rates in the north of the country. Invasive pneumococcal disease was reported most frequently in children aged less than five years (57.3 per 100,000 population). Enhanced surveillance for IPD in 2002 was carried out in all states and territories, providing additional data on 1,929 (85%) of all notified cases. Rates of IPD in Indigenous Australians were 2.7 times the rate in non-Indigenous Australians. The clinical presentation of IPD was most commonly pneumonia (44%) and bacteraemia (35%). There were 175 deaths attributed to IPD resulting in an overall case fatality rate of 9.2 per cent. Forty-two per cent of all cases had a recognised risk factor for IPD. Seventy-five per cent of all pneumococcal isolates serotyped were serotypes in the seven-valent conjugate vaccine and 93 per cent were serotypes in the 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine. The clinical presentation and rates of risk factors varied between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cases and non-vaccine serotypes occurred more frequently among Indigenous children and adults.