Prevalence of pneumococcal serotypes in invasive diseases in southern India.

Forty two pneumococcal strains obtained in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, from 42 patients with invasive diseases, namely pneumonia, meningitis, or peritonitis were typed. Over one-third of pneumococci in children and nearly half in adults were serotype followed by serogroups/types 5, 6 and 7 which were most common in children and adults taken together. These 4 serogroups/types accounted for 11 (79%) of 14 strains in children and 20 (71%) of 28 strains in adults. The remaining 11 strains belonged to 8 serogroups/types, namely 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20.