# 4081
Since I was (unfortunately) back in the dentist’s chair this afternoon, I missed today’s CDC press briefing.
Luckily, Lisa Schnirring of CIDRAP News was not similarly sidelined, and so we have excellent coverage of the big story out of that conference . . . a serious rise reported in pneumococcal disease.
This is just an excerpt of a much longer (and very important) story. Follow the link to read it in its entirety.
CDC warns about rise in serious pneumococcal disease
Lisa Schnirring
Staff Writer
Nov 25, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – In a worrisome but not unexpected pandemic-related development, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that it is seeing a spike in serious pneumococcal disease, particularly in younger patients.
Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters at a press briefing that the CDC is seeing an increasing number of invasive pneumococcal disease cases around the country, but the numbers were particularly high in Denver at a time when pandemic H1N1 activity was peaking in the area.
Over the past 5 years the Denver area averaged 20 pneumococcal disease cases in October, but this year the area recorded 58, and most were in adults between the ages of 20 and 59, many of whom had underlying medical conditions.
Health officials expect to see more pneumococcal disease when seasonal flu circulates, but the infections typically strike people who are older than 65. In past pandemics secondary bacterial pneumonia infections, particularly those involving Streptococcus pneumoniae, frequently contributed to illnesses and deaths.
