Associations between geographic region and immune response variations to pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in clinical trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide (O ’Brien et al., 2009). In 2000, it was estimated that 14.5 million episodes of serious pneumococcal disease occurred, causing 826 000 deaths in children, with over 61% of deaths occurring in African and Asian countries. Since 2000, protein–polysaccharide conjugate vaccines targeting pneumococcal serotypes have been introduced for use in children. Following its widespread use, the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) has substantially reduced the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infection, and hospital admissions due to pneumonia and acute otitis media, mainly in high income coun tries (Fitzwater et al., 2012).
Source: International Journal of Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research