Bacterial meningitis and pneumococcal serotype distribution in children in cameroon.

Acute bacterial meningitis causes a substantial number of deaths in Cameroon. Among 170 children with acute meningitis, 112 were positive for a bacterial pathogen when tested using polymerase chain reaction amplification, and Streptococcus pneumoniae accounted for 57.1% of cases. Pneumococcal serotype coverage by 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was 62.1%. This study shows that in Cameroon, 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine coverage is less than what is estimated for other African countries.