Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Invasive Pneumococcal Disease and Risk of Pneumococcal Coinfection With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Prospective National Cohort Study, England. (16th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Amin-Chowdhury, Zahin; Aiano, Felicity; Mensah, Anna; Sheppard, Carmen L; Litt, David; Fry, Norman K; Andrews, Nick; Ramsay, Mary E; Ladhani, Shamez N
• Is Part Of: Clinical infectious diseases. Volume 72:Number 5(2021)
• Page Start: e65
• Page End: e75
• Publication Date: 2020-11-16
• Subjects: pneumococcal disease -- bacterial coinfection -- nosocomial infection -- case fatality -- risk factor; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; 616.905
• DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1728
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1058-4838

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae coinfection with influenza results in synergistic lethality, but there are limited data on pneumococcal coinfection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods: Public Health England conducts invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in England. IPD trends during 2000/2001–2019/2020 epidemiological years were analyzed and cases during February–June 2020 linked with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess risk factors for death. Results: IPD incidence in 2019/2020 (7.6/100 000; n = 3964) was 30% (IRR, .70; 95% CI, .18–2.67) lower compared with 2018/2019 (10.9/100 000; n = 5666), with large reductions observed across all age groups during March–June 2020. There were 160 886 SARS-CoV-2 and 1137 IPD cases during February–June 2020, including 40 IPD/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) co-infections (.025% [95% CI, .018–.034] of SARS-CoV-2 infections; 3.5% [2.5–4.8] of IPD cases), 21 with COVID-19 diagnosed 3–27 days after IPD, and 27 who developed COVID-19 ≥28 days after IPD. Case-fatality rates (CFRs) were 62.5 (25/40), 47.6% (10/21), and 33.3% (9/27), respectively ( P < .001). In addition to an independent association with increasing age and serotype group, CFR was 7.8-fold (95% CI, 3.8–15.8) higher in those with IPD/COVID-19 coinfection and 3.9-fold (95% CI, 1.4–10.7) higher in patients who developed COVID-19 3–27 days after IPD compared with patients with IPD only. Conclusions: Large declines in IPD were observed following COVID-19 lockdown. IPD/COVID-19 coinfections were rare but associated with high CFR, mainly in older adults. The rarity, age and serotype distribution of IPD/COVID-19 coinfections do not support wider extension of pneumococcal vaccination. Abstract : Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and COVID-19 coinfections were rare in England, representing 0.025% of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections (40/160 886) and 3.5% of IPD cases (40/1137) cases, but associated with higher case fatality than those with IPD alone or COVID-19 alone.