Limited number of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes cause most invasive pneumococcal disease
Contrary to current thinking, the group of serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae responsible for most invasive pneumococcal disease worldwide is conserved across regions. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading bacterial cause of pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in children, which together comprise more than 25% of the 10 million deaths estimated to have occurred in 2000 in children under 5 years of age, and preventable by access to appropriate vaccines. The serotypes currently included in existing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine formulations account for 49-88% of deaths in children under 5 in Africa and Asia, where the morbidity and mortality of pneumococcal disease are the highest, and where until recently, most children do not have access to current pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. These are the key findings of a research study in this week's PLoS Medicine by Hope Johnson from the International Vaccine Access Centre, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA, and...
