Surveillance of Invasive Bacterial Diseases: Vaccine-Preventable & Epidemic-Prone Pathogens
The GERMS-SA surveillance system is a national, active, laboratory-based surveillance system that has been in place since 2003. GERMS-SA monitors invasive bacterial infections caused by pathogens of public health importance in South Africa. Data are collected from both public and private laboratories across South Africa, with clinical isolates and specimens sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for further characterisation. Additionally, the Surveillance Data Warehouse (SDW) is used to identify unreported cases, referred to as audit cases.
The Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis (CRDM) quarterly report on laboratory-based surveillance for invasive bacterial disease caused by vaccine-preventable or epidemic-prone pathogens summarises trends in invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus pyogenes. The report includes the number of episodes identified by age and province, submission rates to NICD, organism viability, as well as serotyping/serogrouping characterisation.
This report covers the reporting period from 01 July 2024 to 30 June 2025
Highlights:
- In 2025, up to the end of quarter 2, 755 episodes of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae, 136 episodes of invasive Haemophilus influenzae, 56 episodes of invasive Neisseria meningitidis, 419 episodes of invasive Streptococcus agalactiae and 325 cases of invasive Streptococcus pyogenes were reported to GERMS-SA.
- The proportion of episodes where no isolate/specimen was received ranged from 4% (2/56) for meningitidis to 54% (227/419) for S. pyogenes.
- All microbiology laboratories are encouraged to submit isolates for serotyping.
