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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine serotypes nearly eliminated
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The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has effectively reduced the circulating pneumococcal serotypes contained within the vaccine, but replacement serotypes have kept incidence of invasive disease at levels in older patients near those before vaccine introduction, according to study results published online.
Natasha Halasa, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, and colleagues published Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype and antibiotic susceptibility data from five counties in Tennessee.
Natasha Halasa
The researchers reported that invasive disease and penicillin-resistant forms of disease had been “virtually eliminated” after PCV7 (Prevnar, Pfizer) introduction, but although invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) rates initially decreased 40%, the rate “increased to 18 per 100,000 person-years in 2008 in individuals aged 15 years and older.”
Halasa and colleagues said the increase was likely caused by serotypes not included in PCV7, and from 2005 to 2008, 52.5%, 58% and 38% of IPD serotypes in children aged younger than 2 years, 2 to 14 years and aged 15 years and older, respectively, were the additional six serotypes included in PCV13.
“This study supports the importance of universal vaccination of young children with PCV 13. We anticipate that this vaccine will once again reduce the occurrence of invasive pneumococcal disease in this population,” Halasa told Infectious Diseases in Children.
The researchers noted some study limitations, including that the large decrease in invasive disease led to smaller study number of cases after PCV7 introduction, and that the results may not be generalizable to the entire United States.
Disclosure: Halasa receives grant support from Sanofi-Pasteur and Pfizer and has served on the data safety monitory board for Novartis.
Natasha Halasa, MD, MPH, can be reached at Vanderbilt University, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 1161 21st Ave South, D7232 MCN, Nashville, TN 37232; email: Natasha.halasa@vanderbilt.edu.
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