Vaccination with protein-conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) provides children with extraordinary protection against pneumococcal disease, although the protective effect may be blunted by the emergence of replacement strains. Studies in adults have compared PCV with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) using surrogate markers of protection, namely, serum anticapsular IgG antibody and opso...

Six multiplex-compatible PCR primers were designed to distinguish Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes within serogroup 18 from culturable/nonculturable pneumococcal specimens, with no cross-reactivity with other serotypes and respiratory organisms. These primers will aid in the generation of better data on vaccine/nonvaccine serotypes in invasive and carriage pneumococcal surveillance and contri...

In a post hoc analysis of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) immunization Trial in Adults the model-predicted 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine efficacy for preventing vaccine-type specific CAP and Invasive Pneumococcal Disease declined from 65% to 40% for subjects being 65 and 75 year olds at the time of vaccination, respectively.

BACKGROUND Otitis media with effusion (OME) is very common during childhood. Because Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common bacterial pathogens involved in OME, pneumococcal vaccines may have a role in the prevention of recurrent OME. OBJECTIVE We sought to assess the effect of combined pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccinations on the recurrence of OME. METHODS A ra...

BACKGROUND The degree and time frame of indirect effects of vaccination (serotype replacement and herd immunity) are key determinants in assessing the net effectiveness of vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) in control of pneumococcal disease. Using modelling, we aimed to quantify these effects and their dependence on coverage of vaccination and the vaccine's efficacy against...

Pneumococcal neuraminidase, NanA, is a pneumococcal vaccine candidate. Prior culture-confirmed pneumococcal contacts were shown to induce serum anti-NanA antibodies during the first 2 years of life. The antibody concentrations at neither 12 nor 18 months were significantly associated with the risk of subsequent pneumococcal carriage or acute otitis media.

33 The decision by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1977 to license a pneumococcal vaccine containing 14 of the 90 known serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae was based on little evidence. 1 The only published trials of this product then available involved healthy people with unusual risks of pneumococcal infection: South African gold miners and people living in the New G...

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...

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children and adults. The management of pneumococcal infections is complicated by the development of resistance to antimicrobials. Risk factors for increased resistance include young age, isolation from the upper respiratory tract, hospitalisation, residence in an urban area, day care attendance, pre...

Abstract: Pneumococcal disease is a global public health concern as it affects the young, aged and immunocompromised. The development of pneumococcal vaccines their incorporation in immunization programs has helped to reduce burden disease. However, serotype replacement emergence non-vaccine serotypes well persistence few vaccine underscores need for new effective ag...