A 7-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was licensed in the United States of America in 2000, but no comprehensive postmarketing review of safety has been carried out. We conducted a systematic review of the safety of PCV7 and other pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. A total of 42 studies were included in the review. Reactogenicity data from some randomized trials ...

Untreated HIV infection results in severe perturbations of the B-cell population and hyporesponsiveness to vaccination. We studied associations between circulating B-cell subsets and antibody response to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in treated and untreated HIV patients.Ninety-five HIV-infected adults were grouped according to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and CD4+ cell count as follows: 20 AR...

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination has proved highly effective in eliminating vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage and disease. However, the potential adverse effects of serotype replacement remain a major concern when implementing routine childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programmes. Applying a concise predictive model, we present a ready-to-use quantitative tool to investigate the im...

BACKGROUND A 9-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-9), given in a 3-dose schedule, protected Gambian children against pneumococcal disease and reduced nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci of vaccine serotypes. We have studied the effect of a booster or delayed primary dose of 7-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) on antibody and nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci 3-4 years after prima...

BACKGROUND Analysis of US claims data from April 2010 to June 2011 estimated that 39% of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) catch-up eligible cohort would ever receive the catch-up vaccination; a previous analysis assumed 87%. METHODS This updated figure was applied to a previously published 10-year Markov model while holding all other inputs constant. RESULTS Our model es...

The use of pneumococcal vaccine plays an important role for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). However, introducing the pneumococcal vaccine into the national immunization program (NIP) is complex and costly. The strategy of progressively integrating the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) into the NIP in Taiwan provides valuable experience for policy makers. The 7-valent PCV (...

Pneumonia is the fourth-leading cause of death globally, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most important causative pathogen. Because the incidence of pneumococcal diseases is likely to increase with the aging society, we should determine an optimal strategy for pneumococcal vaccination. While consensus indicates that 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine prevents invasive pneumococca...

Invasive pneumococcal disease is one of the major causes of death in young children in resource poor countries. Nasopharyngeal carriage studies provide insight into the local prevalence of circulating pneumococcal serotypes. There are very few data on the concurrent carriage of multiple pneumococcal serotypes. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and serotype distribution of pneumococci ...

Shabir A Madhi, University of the Witwatersrand/Medical Research Council: Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit; and Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation: Vaccine Preventable Diseases; University of the Witwatersrand. Correspondence to: Shabir A Madhi, Old Potch Road, Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital, Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit, New...

Patients with COPD and other chronic respiratory diseases are especially vulnerable to viral and bacterial pulmonary infections, which are major causes of exacerbations, hospitalization, disease progression, and mortality in COPD patients. Effective vaccines could reduce the burden of respiratory infections and acute exacerbations in COPD patients, but what is the evidence for this? This articl...