The article provides an overview of the epidemiology of pneumococcal meningitis in Poland between 2005 and 2015. It shows that the incidence of the disease increased substantially during this period, particularly among older adults. The study also found that a large proportion of cases were caused by serotypes included in the 10‑valent and 13‑valent pneumococcal vaccines, and that many strains showed resistance to commonly used antibiotics. The introduction of the 10‑valent vaccine in 2017 is therefore expected to reduce both the disease burden and the number of antibiotic‑resistant cases.
This analysis was part of the PhD thesis of Aleksandra Polkowska. I had been her mentor at the start of her career at the Public Health Institute and involved her in pneumococcal disease surveillance while she was still working in Poland, which led her to invite me to participate in this publication. Although my contribution was limited, it was a pleasure to collaborate with her.