COVID-19 measures reduced life-threatening invasive bacterial infections

Containment measures introduced to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a sustained reduction in the transmission of certain bacteria that cause diseases such as meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia, according to a new study published in The Lancet Digital Health by the Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance (IRIS) Consortium. The study analysed the incidence of invasive bacterial disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus agalactiae two years before (2018-2019) and during (2020-2021) the pandemic. The researchers analysed disease cases by patient age and serotype or serogroup (variants within species of bacteria that are related to the severity of disease and are the target for vaccine-mediated protection) to assess changes that may have implications for management of the diseases and vaccination programmes. The stringency of each country's COVID-19 containment measures was quantified using the Oxford Blavatnik COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. This stringency index combined nine indicators that were tracked daily: school, workplace, and public transport closures; public event cancellations; gathering restrictions; stay at home requirements; internal movement restrictions; international travel controls; and public information campaigns. Overall, 116,842 cases of invasive disease were analysed in this study: 76,481 pre-pandemic (2018-2019) and 40,360 during the pandemic (2020-2021).