肺炎链球菌性肺炎是一个老杀手。在本世纪初，Osler爵士曾将肺叶肺炎描述为“人类死亡的元凶”。到本世纪末，全世界每年至少有100万人死于肺炎链球菌性肺炎。在美国，其死亡人数高于任何其它可免疫预防的感染性疾病。此外，肺炎链球菌感染具有显著的发病率。虽然来自亚洲地区 Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia is an old killer. Earlier this century, Sir Osler described lobular pneumonia as “the culprit in human death.” By the end of this century, at least one million people die from pneumococcal pneumonia every year in the world. In the United States, the death toll is higher than any other infectious disease that is immunologically preventable. In addition, S. pneumoniae infections have a significant morbidity. Although from Asia