Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Respiratory Virus Co-infections - Vol. 18 No. 2 - February 2012 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Respiratory Virus Co-infections - Vol. 18 No. 2 - February 2012 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 18, Number 2—February 2012

Dispatch

Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Respiratory Virus Co-infections

Article Contents

• The Study
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgment
• References
• Figure
• Table 1
• Table 2
• Technical Appendix  [502 KB]
• Suggested Citation

Hong Zhou¹, Michael Haber , Susan Ray, Monica M. Farley, Catherine A. Panozzo, and Keith P. Klugman

Author affiliations: Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (H. Zhou, M. Haber, S. Ray, M.M. Farley, K.P. Klugman); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (C.A. Panozzo)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

To confirm whether respiratory virus infections increase susceptibility to invasive pneumococcal pneumonia, we examined data from 11 influenza seasons (1994–2005) in the United States. Invasive pneumococcal pneumonia was significantly associated with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus activities in 5 seasons. Association strength was higher when strain H3N2 was the predominant influenza A virus strain.

Invasive pneumococcal pneumonia (IPP) diseases cause high rates of illness and death every year. Existing evidence supports the biological plausibility that preceding respiratory viral infections, particularly with influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), increase susceptibility to IPP diseases (1). Although it has been generally believed that the increases in IPP diseases in winter relate to increased activity of respiratory viruses, especially influenza virus and RSV (2–6), evidence of association of IPP diseases and respiratory virus infections is not conclusive. If such an association is likely, then public health authorities should emphasize that vaccination against influenza, as well as other interventions against influenza and RSV, can reduce incidence of IPP diseases. We believe that cold temperatures, lack of sunshine, and rainy and snowy weather are the main reasons that persons increase their indoor activities during the winter and that respiratory diseases are mainly transmitted by close person-to-person contact (5,7,8). Therefore, we conducted separate analyses of the association of IPP with seasonal influenza virus and RSV activities, adjusted by climate variables, for each of 11 influenza seasons from 1994–95 through 2004–05.