Meteorological effects on the incidence of pneumococcal bacteremia in Denmark

The seasonal nature of invasive pneumococcal disease with peak incidences during winter months is well recognized (Dowell 2003, Talbot 2005, Watson 2006). However few detailed studies of the temporal relationship between actual climatic changes and subsequent pneumococcal disease are available. We perform an 8-year longitudinal population-based ecological study in a Danish county to examine whether foregoing changes in meteorological parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and wind velocity, predicted variations in pneumococcal bacteremia (PB) incidence.