Population-based epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal infection in children in nine urban centers in Canada, 1994 through 1998.

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal infections in Canadian children 0 to 12 years old.

Methods: At each of nine urban centers, active surveillance was conducted to identify all cases of invasive pneumococcal infection in children during 1994 to 1998. Postal codes were used to distinguish cases resident in defined urban areas from referral cases.