Pneumococcal meningitis - Meningitis Research Foundation

Pneumococcal

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.

Pneumococcal bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae) are the second biggest cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK and Ireland.

Many people, including up to 60% of children¹, carry pneumococcal bacteria in the back of their nose and throat, and constantly pass them around by coughing and sneezing and close contact. Most of the time this is completely harmless. But in a susceptible person, the bacteria can cause a wide range of disease - from fairly minor bronchitis and ear and sinus infections to life-threatening pneumonia, septicaemia, and, less frequently, meningitis. Sometimes, pneumococcal meningitis can develop from more minor forms of the infection such as earache.

Although the bacteria are easy to pass on, contact with a person with pneumococcal meningitis does not pose a higher risk of infection than normal day-to-day contact with healthy children.

What are the symptoms?

Pneumococcal meningitis has the same symptoms as other forms of bacterial meningitis .

Pneumococcal infection can cause septicaemia, the blood-poisoning form of the disease, but not necessarily with meningitis.

People with pneumococcal disease do not normally get the rash, which is typical of the most common kind of meningitis and septicaemia, meningococcal disease.

About 80% of people who get pneumococcal meningitis recover², about half of them without serious problems. Even so, it is among the most life-threatening of major forms of meningitis³), and survivors are more likely to have after effects, including deafness, seizures and long-term brain damage than in other forms. In many cases, after effects are temporary or improve over time, and, especially with young children in the early stages of recovery, it can be difficult to tell if problems will be long-lasting.

There are at least 90 different strains, or serotypes⁴, of pneumococcal bacteria, based on differences in the bacterial polysaccharide or 'sugar coat'. However, most disease is caused by only a few strains.

Who gets pneumococcal disease?

People most likely to get pneumococcal disease are:

young children, particularly under age two;
the elderly;
people with poorly functioning immune systems or other health conditions that increase their risk of infection.

Research from other countries has found social and environmental factors also play a role. In these studies, particular ethnic groups, children who attend daycare centres, children who are not currently being breastfed⁵ or those who have more than one pre-school sibling had a somewhat higher risk of pneumococcal disease. This information influences the guidelines for use of pneumococcal vaccines in the countries concerned, but has not yet been collected for the UK.

Vaccines against pneumococcal disease

There are two different vaccines available to protect against serious pneumococcal disease. However the recommendations for their use are different in the UK to those in the Republic of Ireland.

For more information about the vaccines available to protect against pneumococcal disease, please click on the most appropriate link below:

Pneumococcal vaccines in the UK.

Pneumococcal vaccines in the Republic of Ireland.