title: The changing aetiology of paediatric bacteraemia in England and Wales, 1998-2007.
abstract: Bacteraemia in children is a potentially life-threatening condition. The objective of this study was to determine trends in the aetiology of bacteraemia in children aged 1 month-15 years in England and Wales by collecting data voluntarily reported by National Health Service hospital microbiology laboratories. Over the 10-year period 1998-2007, a total of 51 788 bacteraemia cases involving 105 genera/species of bacteria were reported. Total annual reports of bacteraemia increased from 4125 to 6916, with a mean increase of 6.5 % per year (95 % CI: 1.3-12.1 %). In 2007, just over half the cases were accounted for by four groups of organisms: coagulase-negative staphylococci (28 %), Staphylococcus aureus (10 %), non-pyogenic streptococci (9 %) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (7 %). These organisms along with a further 13 species/genera accounted for 90 % of the cases. The commonest Gram-negative organisms were Neisseria meningitidis and Escherichia coli, which each accounted for 5 % of total bacteraemia reports in 2007. There was a significant decrease in reports of bacteraemia due to the three vaccine-preventable pathogens Haemophilus influenzae, N. meningitidis and Strep. pneumoniae, following the introduction of each vaccine programme or catch-up campaign. This study identified the commonest causes of bacteraemia in children in England and Wales, and highlighted the shifts in trends observed over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, UK.
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alan P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, UK.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muller-Pebody
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Modelling and Bioinformatics, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, London, UK.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charlett
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health, UCL Institute for Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Infectious Disease Unit, St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology