All About Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine
A much more effective approach to reducing the pneumococcal disease morbidity and mortality than any treatment is prevention by vaccination - this applies to all ages.
A global study involving over 5,000 parents revealed that 55% of them have either very little awareness of pneumococcal disease or none at all. As soon as they were provided with additional information about pneumococcal disease, 97% of all the parents surveyed said that if an effective and safe vaccine were available they would like their child to have it.
PCV7 is the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine approved to help protect infants (children up to one year of age) and young children against pneumococcal disease caused by 7 serotypes of S. pneumoniae contained in the vaccine that cause the majority of pneumococcal disease worldwide. PCV7 helps protect infants and young children by stimulating the immune system and helping to induce immunologic memory.
The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the priority inclusion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in national childhood immunization programs to help significantly reduce global mortality and morbidity.
Since PCV7 was included in the routine pediatric immunization schedule in the USA there has been a 98% (95% CI: 97-99) drop in vaccine-type pneumococcal disease among infants and toddlers younger than 5 years of age compared with a prelicensure baseline. Moreover, the number of infections caused by the 7 conjugate vaccine serotypes dropped by an average of 55% (95% CI: 51-98) among unvaccinated people aged 50 years and over.
Important Safety Information
In clinical studies (n=18,168), the most frequently reported adverse events included injection site reactions, fever (>38°C/100.4°F), irritability, drowsiness, restless sleep, decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and rash.
Risks are associated with all vaccines, including PCV7. Hypersensitivity to any vaccine component, including diphtheria toxoid, is a contraindication to its use. PCV7 does not provide 100 percent protection against vaccine serotypes or protect against nonvaccine serotypes.
PCV7 is not indicated for use in adults. The decision to administer PCV7 should be based on its efficacy in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease.
The minimum serum antibody concentration necessary for protection against IPD has not been determined for any serotype.
The frequency of pneumococcal serotypes and serogroups can vary from country to country, which could influence the effectiveness of the vaccine in any given country.
Because otitis media is caused by many organisms other than serotypes of S. pneumoniae represented in the vaccine, protection against all causes of otitis media or pneumonia is expected to be lower than for invasive disease.
This Pneumococcal Disease information section was written by Christian Nordqvist for Medical News Today, and may not be re-produced in any way without the permission of Medical News Today. Additional materials provided by Wyeth.
Sources of information:
Further information
Disclaimer: The Pneumococcal Disease section on Medical News Today is funded by an educational grant from Wyeth. This guide is provided for general information purposes only. The materials contained within this guide do not constitute medical or pharmaceutical advice, which should be sought from qualified medical and pharmaceutical advisers. Full disclaimer.
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MediLexicon International Ltd © 2004-2012 All rights reserved.
MNT (logo) is the registered EU trade mark of MediLexicon Int. Limited.
