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Title: Group A streptococcus meningitis in children. Author: de Almeida Torres RS, Fedalto LE, de Almeida Torres RF, Steer AC, Smeesters PR. Journal: Pediatr Infect Dis J; 2013 Feb; 32(2):110-4. PubMed ID: 22926217. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To characterize the epidemiologic burden and the molecular determinants of group A streptococcal (GAS) meningitis among the pediatric population of the state of Paraná, Brazil. METHODS: Clinical and epidemiologic data were gathered by a compulsory notification system during the period 2003 to 2011. Bacterial identification, antibiotic resistance profile, emm-typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing and virulence profile were analyzed by a central reference laboratory. A review of published pediatric cases of GAS meningitis from the last 45 years was undertaken and compared with the Brazilian series. RESULTS: The incidence of GAS meningitis among the pediatric population was 0.06 cases per 100,000 children per year and was associated with a case fatality rate of 43%. Neonatal age and the presence of an associated toxic shock syndrome were identified as risk factors for death. A distant focus of infection was present in more than half of the patients in the literature and in 36% in the Brazilian case series. A high diversity of emm-types was associated with GAS meningitis in Brazil. No single virulence determinant could be associated with death. CONCLUSIONS: GAS meningitis is associated with high mortality and with a high diversity of GAS emm-types and virulence determinants in Brazil.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]