Progress in epidemiological studies on pneumococcal diseases

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading pathogen of pneumonia, meningitis, and otitis media in children and also causes community-acquired pneumonia in adults and the elderly. The distribution of pneumococcus infections varies in different population, time periods, and regions. In this study, we review researches on pneumococcal infection, pneumococcal disease, epidemiology and preventive strategy of pneumococcal diseases for providing information to pneumococcal diseases control and prevention.