Incidence (left axis, bars) and average age at diagnosis (right axis, line) are shown for patients with bacterial meningitis in the United States from 1971 to 2007[1-4]. The decreasing proportion of disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and, later, Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) and the increase in overall age of remaining cases show the effect of routine infant vaccination programs.
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- Thigpen MC, Whitney CG, Messonnier NE, et al. Bacterial meningitis in the United States, 1998–2007. N Engl J Med 2011; 364:2016.
- Schuchat A, Hilger T, Farley MM, et al. Active bacterial core surveillance of the emerging infections program network. Emerg Infect Dis 2001; 7:92.
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Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature Reviews Disease Primers. Van de Beek D, Brouwer M, Hasbun R, et al. Community-acquired bacterial meningitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2016; 2:1. Copyright © 2016.
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