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Invasive Streptoccocal Pneumonia

Streptococcus pneumonia is a bacteria that can cause ear infections and meningitis. It is also the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in all age groups. While some people carry this bacteria in their nose and/or throat and do not get sick, it can become invasive and cause serious illness. Symptoms usually start suddenly with a high fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, breathing difficulty and a cough. For more information, see the health unit's Streptococcal pneumonia Fact Sheet.

The following graph shows the number of invasive Streptococcal pneumonia cases in Simcoe Muskoka between 2002 and 2008. Data are not shown for 2000 and 2001 due to reporting inconsistencies in those years.  There are many factors that influence how many cases are reported to the health unit, as explained on the Infectious Diseases page.

The follwing graph shows the incidence rate of invasive Streptococcal pneumonia in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario between 2002 and 2008. Neither incidence rate displays an overall trend during this time period. There is some variability in the Simcoe Muskoka rate, which means that there are multiple peaks and valleys and it is difficult to determine whether an increase is significant or whether it is within the expected range for this disease.