title: No temporal association between influenza outbreaks and invasive pneumococcal infections.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether the influenza peak in populations precedes the annual peak for invasive pneumococcal infections (IPI) in winter.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ecological study. Active surveillance data on influenza A and IPI in children up to 16 years of age collected from 1997 to 2003 were analysed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paediatric hospitals in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children under 16 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all years under study, the influenza A season did not appear to affect the IPI season (p = 0.49). Specifically, the influenza peak never preceded the IPI peak.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On a population level there was no indication that the annual influenza epidemic triggered the winter increase in the IPI rate or the peak of the IPI distribution in children.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Andre Michael
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Toschke
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arenz
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: von Kries
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Puppe
authors.forename: Josef A I
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Weigl
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höhle
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Heininger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009980:Influenza A virus; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010507:Periodicity; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012621:Seasons