High Pneumococcal DNA Loads Are Associated With Mortality in Malawian Children With Invasive Pneumococcal Disease

In bacteremia owing to Streptococcus pneumoniae, high bacterial counts at presentation have been shown to be predictive of the development of serious invasive disease. Using real-time PCR, we aimed to determine pneumococcal DNA loads in blood and CSF, and their relationship to cytokine concentrations, clinical presentation and outcome.