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Volume 14, Number 1—January 2008
THEME ISSUE
International Polar Year
Dispatch

Population-based Survey of Invasive Bacterial Diseases, Greenland, 1995–2004

Annette Meyer*, Karin Ladefoged†, Peter Poulsen†, and Anders Koch*Comments to Author 
Author affiliations: *Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark; †Dronning Ingrids Hospital, Nuuk, Greenland;

Main Article

Table

Characteristics of 281 bacterial isolates and 242 case-patients from 254 episodes of invasive bacterial infection, Greenland, 1995–2004

Bacterial class No. isolates Median age, y (range) Overall incidence* Incidence* by sex
Incidence* by ethnicity (place of birth)
Incidence* by region (place of living)
M 
(n = 129) F 
(n = 125) Greenland
(n = 235) Denmark/other
(n = 18) Nuuk
(n = 134) Districts 
(n = 120)
Streptococcus spp.
S. pneumoniae† 92 46
(0–76) 16.4 15.7 17.2 17.6 8.0 39.9 8.7
Group A 
streptococci 5 58
(37–76) 0.9 1.3 0.4 1.0 0 0.7 0.9
Group B 
streptococci 5 43
(12–70) 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.0 0 2.9 0.2
Other‡
10
38
(6–67)
1.8
2.7
0.8

1.8
1.6

5.1
0.7
Staphylococcus spp.
S. aureus§ 35 50
(0–90) 6.2 4.7 8.0 6.5 4.8 13.8 3.8
Other¶
22
41
(0–70)
3.9
4.7
3.1

4.1
3.2

7.3
2.8
Enterococcus faecalis 8 45
(0–72) 1.4 2.0 0.8 1.4 1.6 2.9 0.9
Neisseria meningitidis# 15 5
(0–54) 2.7 2.3 3.1 3.0 0 5.8 1.6
Moraxella catarrhalis
2
18
(0–36)
0.4
0
0.8

0.4
0

0.7
0.2
Haemophilus influenzae
Type b 4 0
(0–0) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0 0.7 0.7
Non-b
10
22
(0–71)
1.8
1.3
2.3

2.0
0

2.9
1.4
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
2
45
(36–55)
0.4
0.7
0

0.4
0

1.5
0
Enterobacteriaceae spp.
Escherichia coli 44 58
(0–84) 7.8 7.7 8.0 7.9 8.0 14.5 5.7
Klebsiellapneumoniae 6 67
(22–74) 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.6 2.9 0.5
Salmonella spp. 5 42
(12–51) 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.6 3.2 2.2 0.5
Enterobacter 
cloacae
1
72
0.2
0.3
0

0.2
0

0
0.2
Other
Gram-positive 
cocci** 5 46
(4–65) 0.9 0.7 1.1 1.0 0 1.5 0.7
Gram-positive 
rods†† 7 58
(13–72) 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.4 0 2.2 0.9
Gram-negative 
rods‡‡
3
54
(13–72)
0.5
0
1.1

0.6
0

0.7
0.5
Total 281 47
(0–90) 50.0 49.0 51.1 52.9 32.1 108.1 31.1

*Per 100,000 population.
†Most numerous serotypes were 12F (9) and 22F (5); 41 isolates not were serotyped. Serotype distribution for 1996–2002 described in detail in (1).
‡Other hemolytic and nonhemolytic streptococci.
§None of the S. aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant strains.
S. epidermidis (6) and other non–S. aureus staphylococci.
#Two isolates in group B, 4 in group C, and 9 not grouped.
**S. mitis (1) and unspecified cocci.
††Bacillus sp. (1), corynebacterium (1), Clostridium perfringens (2), Listeria monocytogenes (1), and Propionebacterium sp. (1).
‡‡Bacteroides sp. (1) and unspecified rods.

Main Article

References
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Main Article

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Page updated: July 08, 2010
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