Rates of AIDS-associated invasive pneumococcal disease have plummeted, but they remain much higher than those in the general population.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia among HIV-infected people. In the years before effective antiretroviral therapy, population rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (defined as bloodstream or CNS infection) correlated well with HIV prevalence. How has the advent of effective antiretroviral treatment affected these disease patterns?
Researchers used an active population-based surveillance system to track rates of invasive pneumococcal disease in three geographically diverse U.S. areas between 1995 and 2000. Cases associated with AIDS were identified by medical-records review or by correlation with local AIDS registries.
In the year from July 1995 through June 1996, the incidence of AIDS-associated invasiv…