Changes in the incidence of invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis during the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 countries and territories in the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance Initiative: a prospective analysis of surveillance data

Angela B Brueggemann (1) , Melissa J Jansen van Rensburg (1) , David Shaw (1) , Noel D Mccarthy (2) , Keith A Jolley (3) , Martin C J Maiden (3) , Mark P G van Der Linden (4) , Zahin Amin-Chowdhury (5) , Désirée E Bennett (6) , Ray Borrow (7) , Maria-Cristina C Brandileone (8) , Karen Broughton (5) , Ruth Campbell (9) , Bin Cao (10) , Carlo Casanova (11) , Eun Hwa Choi (12) , Yiu Wai Chu (13) , Stephen A Clark (7) , Heike Claus (14) , Juliana Coelho (5) , Mary Corcoran (15, 6) , Simon Cottrell (16) , Robert J Cunney (15, 6) , Tine Dalby (17) , Heather Davies (18) , Linda de Gouveia (19) , Ala-Eddine Deghmane (20) , Walter Demczuk (21) , Stefanie Desmet (22, 23) , Richard Drew (15, 6) , Mignon Du Plessis (19) , Helga Erlendsdottir (24) , Norman K Fry (5) , Kurt Fuursted (25) , Steve J Gray (5) , Birgitta Henriques-Normark (26, 27) , Thomas Hale (1) , Markus Hilty (11) , Steen Hoffmann (25) , Hilary Humphreys (6) , Margaret Ip (28) , Susanne Jacobsson (29) , Jillian Johnston (9) , Jana Kozakova (17) , Karl G Kristinsson (24) , Pavla Krizova (17) , Alicja Kuch (30) , Shamez N Ladhani (5) , Thiên-Trí Lâm (14) , Vera Lebedova (17) , Laura Lindholm (31) , David J Litt (5) , Irene Martin (21) , Delphine Martiny (32, 33) , Wesley Mattheus (34) , Martha Mcelligott (6) , Mary Meehan (6) , Susan Meiring (19) , Paula Mölling (29) , Eva Morfeldt (35) , Julie Morgan (18) , Robert M Mulhall (6) , Carmen Muñoz-Almagro (36) , David R Murdoch (37) , Joy Murphy (9) , Martin Musilek (17) , Alexandre Mzabi (38) , Amaresh Perez-Argüello (36) , Monique Perrin (38) , Malorie Perry (16) , Alba Redin (36) , Richard Roberts (16) , Maria Roberts (16) , Assaf Rokney (39) , Merav Ron (39) , Kevin J Scott (40) , Carmen L Sheppard (5) , Lotta Siira (31) , Anna Skoczyńska (30) , Monica Sloan (9) , Hans-Christian Slotved (25) , Andrew J Smith (40) , Joon Young Song (41) , Muhamed-Kheir Taha (20) , Maija Toropainen (31) , Dominic Tsang (13) , Anni Vainio (31) , Nina M van Sorge (37) , Emmanuelle Varon (42) , Jiri Vlach (17) , Ulrich Vogel (14) , Sandra Vohrnova (17) , Anne von Gottberg (19) , Rosemeire C Zanella (8) , Fei Zhou (10)

1 University of Oxford
2 Trinity College Dublin
3 Department of Zoology [Oxford]
4 University Hospital RWTH Aachen
5 Public Health England [London]
6 Beaumont Hospital
7 Manchester Royal Infirmary
8 Instituto Adolfo Lutz [São Paulo, Brazil]
9 Public Health Agency [Belfast]
10 China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
11 UNIBE - Universität Bern / University of Bern
12 SNUCM - Seoul National University College of Medicine [Séoul, Corée du Sud]
13 GovHK - The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
14 University of Würzburg
15 Children's Health Ireland
16 Public Health Wales
17 National Institute of Public Health [Prague]
18 Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited
19 NICD - National Institute for Communicable Diseases [Johannesburg]
20 CC-OMS - WHO-CC - Centre Collaborateur de l'OMS pour les méningites bactériennes - WHO Collaborating Center Bacterial Meningitis
21 Public Health Agency of Canada
22 University Hospitals Leuven [Leuven]
23 KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven = Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
24 Landspitali National University Hospital of Iceland
25 Statens Serum Institut [Copenhagen]
26 Karolinska Institutet [Stockholm]
27 Karolinska University Hospital [Stockholm]
28 CUHK - The Chinese University of Hong Kong [Hong Kong]
29 Örebro University
30 NIL - National Medicines Institute - Narodowy Instytut Leków [Warsaw]
31 FIHW - Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
32 UMons - Université de Mons
33 Laboratoires des Hôpitaux Universitaires de Bruxelles, Universitaire Laboratorium Brussel
34 National Reference Centre for Neisseria meningitidis [Bruxelles]
35 Public Health Agency of Sweden
36 Hospital Sant Joan de Déu [Barcelona]
37 UvA - University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] = Universiteit van Amsterdam
38 LNS - Laboratoire National de Santé [Luxembourg]
39 Ministry of Health [Jérusalem]
40 Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories
41 College of Medicine, Korea University
42 CHI Créteil

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis, which are typically transmitted via respiratory droplets, are leading causes of invasive diseases, including bacteraemic pneumonia and meningitis, and of secondary infections subsequent to post-viral respiratory disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of invasive disease due to these pathogens during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this prospective analysis of surveillance data, laboratories in 26 countries and territories across six continents submitted data on cases of invasive disease due to S pneumoniae, H influenzae, and N meningitidis from Jan 1, 2018, to May, 31, 2020, as part of the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance (IRIS) Initiative. Numbers of weekly cases in 2020 were compared with corresponding data for 2018 and 2019. Data for invasive disease due to Streptococcus agalactiae, a non-respiratory pathogen, were collected from nine laboratories for comparison. The stringency of COVID-19 containment measures was quantified using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. Changes in population movements were assessed using Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports. Interrupted time-series modelling quantified changes in the incidence of invasive disease due to S pneumoniae, H influenzae, and N meningitidis in 2020 relative to when containment measures were imposed. Findings: 27 laboratories from 26 countries and territories submitted data to the IRIS Initiative for S pneumoniae (62 837 total cases), 24 laboratories from 24 countries submitted data for H influenzae (7796 total cases), and 21 laboratories from 21 countries submitted data for N meningitidis (5877 total cases). All countries and territories had experienced a significant and sustained reduction in invasive diseases due to S pneumoniae, H influenzae, and N meningitidis in early 2020 (Jan 1 to May 31, 2020), coinciding with the introduction of COVID-19 containment measures in each country. By contrast, no significant changes in the incidence of invasive S agalactiae infections were observed. Similar trends were observed across most countries and territories despite differing stringency in COVID-19 control policies. The incidence of reported S pneumoniae infections decreased by 68% at 4 weeks (incidence rate ratio 0·32 [95% CI 0·27-0·37]) and 82% at 8 weeks (0·18 [0·14-0·23]) following the week in which significant changes in population movements were recorded. Interpretation: The introduction of COVID-19 containment policies and public information campaigns likely reduced transmission of S pneumoniae, H influenzae, and N meningitidis, leading to a significant reduction in life-threatening invasive diseases in many countries worldwide

Mots clés: Immunisation and Countermeasures Division (N K Fry PhD; Z Amin-Chowdhury BSc; S N Ladhani MD); Respiratory and Vaccine Preventable Bacteria Reference Unit

Domaines: Bactériologie

Angela B Brueggemann, Melissa J Jansen van Rensburg, David Shaw, Noel D Mccarthy, Keith A Jolley, et al.. Changes in the incidence of invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis during the COVID-19 pandemic in 26 countries and territories in the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance Initiative: a prospective analysis of surveillance data. The Lancet Digital Health, 2021, 3 (6), pp.e360-e370. ⟨10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00077-7⟩. ⟨pasteur-03261492⟩