Systemic disease caused by pneumococci.

The type distribution of pneumococci isolated from 462 patients was determined. In this survey type 1 strains were the most numerous but type 14 and type 18 caused the most infections in children under five years of age. The most common infections were pneumonia, meningitis or septicaemia. Possible pre-disposing causes included a history of heavy drinking, head injury, bronchitis or other chest infection, heart disease, liver disease, malignancy, viral infection or abnormality of the spleen.