Childhood Bacterial Meningitis Trends in Japan from 2005 to 2006

• Published in: Kansenshogaku Zasshi Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 187 - 197
• Main Authors: SUNAKAWA, Keisuke, UBUKATA, Kimiko, CHIBA, Nahoko, HASEGAWA, Keiko, NONOYAMA, Masato, IWATA, Satoshi, AKITA, Hironobu, SATO, Yoshitake
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases 01.05.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Distribution; Ampicillin - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; bacterial meningitis; beta-Lactams - administration & dosage; Carbapenems - administration & dosage; Cephalosporins - administration & dosage; Child; Child, Preschool; children; Drug Resistance; Drug Therapy, Combination; epidemiology; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Female; Haemophilus influenzae - isolation & purification; Hemophilus influenzae; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Meningitis, Bacterial - drug therapy; Meningitis, Bacterial - epidemiology; Meningitis, Bacterial - microbiology; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Streptococcus pneumoniae - isolation & purification; Time Factors; Japan
• ISSN: 0387-5911; 1884-569X
• DOI: 10.11150/kansenshogakuzasshi1970.82.187

We surveyed pediatric bacterial meningitis epidemiology from January 2005 to December 2006 in Ja-pan, with the following results. Bacterial meningitis cases numbered 246 -138 boys and 108 girls-, equivalentto 1.7-1.72 children of 1, 000 hospitalized in pediatrics per year. The age distribution for infection was highestin those under 1 year of age and decreased with increasing age. Haemophilus influenzae was the most com-mon infection causing the pathogen, followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B streptococcus, and Escherichia coil. The relationship between causative pathogens and age distribution was as follows: group B streptococcus and E. coli were major pathogens in patients under 4 months old and H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae in those over 4 months old. Susceptibility tests at individual facilities showed 59.3% of H. influenzae isolates and 69.3% of S. pneumoniae isolates in 2004 to be drug-resistant. Ampicillin and cephem antibiotics are effective against GBS, E. coli, and Listeria, so combined of ampicil-lin and cephem antibiotics are used as first-line antibiotics in many facilities in patients under 4 month oldand combined of carbapenem antibiotics effective against PRSP and cephem effective against H. influenzae were the first choice against childhood bacterial meningitis in patients over 4 month old.