INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence and outcome of pneumococcal infections in Greenland with special reference to serotypes. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study of invasive pneumococcal infections in Greenland in the period 1996-2002. METHODS: Cases were defined as patients with positive cultures of Streptococcus pneumoniae from blood and/or CSF received at the microbiological laboratory of Dronning Ingrids Hospital in Nuuk. Cultures were sent to Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen for serotyping. Medical charts were reviewed. RESULTS: Fifty-one cases were identified. Incidence among Inuit was 54 and among non-Inuit 17 per 100,000 per year. Twenty-one patients were in the age group 35-49 years and 20 in the age group 50-64 years. Twenty patients had meningitis (incidence 6 per 100,000). Seventeen patients died (33%). Most common serotypes were 1 (6 cases) and 12F (8 cases). Mortality rate was significantly higher among patients with 12F than among others (p<0.01). No patients wit serotype 1 died. CONCLUSION: Like in Canada and Alaska, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease, especially meningitis, is high among the Inuit in Greenland. Young and middle-aged adults were most frequently affected. Serotype seems to be an important determinant of the outcome of invasive pneumococcal disease.
INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence and outcome of pneumococcal infections in Greenland with special reference to serotypes. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study of invasive pneumococcal infections in Greenland in the period 1996-2002. METHODS: Cases were defined as patients with positive cultures of Streptococcus pneumoniae from blood and/or CSF received at the microbiological laboratory of Dronning Ingrids Hospital in Nuuk. Cultures were sent to Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen for serotyping. Medical charts were reviewed. RESULTS: Fifty-one cases were identified. Incidence among Inuit was 54 and among non-Inuit 17 per 100,000 per year. Twenty-one patients were in the age group 35-49 years and 20 in the age group 50-64 years. Twenty patients had meningitis (incidence 6 per 100,000). Seventeen patients died (33%). Most common serotypes were 1 (6 cases) and 12F (8 cases). Mortality rate was significantly higher among patients with 12F than among others (p<0.01). No patients wit serotype 1 died. CONCLUSION: Like in Canada and Alaska, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease, especially meningitis, is high among the Inuit in Greenland. Young and middle-aged adults were most frequently affected. Serotype seems to be an important determinant of the outcome of invasive pneumococcal disease.
Authors: Grace Huang; Irene Martin; Raymond S Tsang; Walter H Demczuk; Gregory J Tyrrell; Y Anita Li; Catherine Dickson; Francesca Reyes-Domingo; Susan G Squires Journal: Can Commun Dis Rep Date: 2021-11-10
Authors: Johan Emdal Navne; Anders Koch; Hans-Christian Slotved; Mikael Andersson; Mads Melbye; Karin Ladefoged; Malene Børresen Journal: Int J Circumpolar Health Date: 2017 Impact factor: 1.228