INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Enhanced surveillance for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was carried out in all Australian states and territories in 2005 with comparative data available since 2001. There were 1,680 cases of IPD notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System in Australia in 2005; a notification rate of 8.3 cases per 100,000 population. The rates varied between states and territories and by geographical region with the highest rates in the Northern Territory, the jurisdiction with the largest proportion of Indigenous people. Invasive pneumococcal disease was reported most frequently in those aged 85 years or over (41 cases per 100,000 population) and in 1-year-old children (36.5 cases per 100,000 population). Enhanced data provided additional information on 1,015 (60%) of all notified cases. The overall rate of IPD in Indigenous Australians was 8.6 times the rate in non-Indigenous Australians. There were 126 deaths attributed to IPD resulting in an overall case fatality rate of 7.5%. While the rate of IPD in the Indigenous under 2-year-old population decreased from 219 cases per 100,000 population since targeted