Pneumococcal Disease News and Research

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Pneumococcal disease describes a group of illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus. This bacterial pathogen, which affects both children and adults, is a major cause of death and illness worldwide. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal disease is the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than 5 years of age worldwide.

Wyeth's Prevenar vaccine for pneumococcal disease registered in Russia

Wyeth announced today that its 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, Adsorbed), has been registered by the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development (Roszdravnadzor) and is expected to be commercially available later this year.

2 Mar 2009

Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to protect against pneumonia

Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia, found a study by a team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

5 Jan 2009

Adults with asthma at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease

Mayo Clinic research shows adults with asthma are at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacteria causing middle ear infections and community acquired pneumonia.

22 Dec 2008

Governments urged to fight pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal disease, one of the world's leading causes of death and serious illness, must be recognised as an urgent global health issue together with HIV, malaria and TB, say the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pneumococcal Disease Prevention in the Developing World in a report launching at the House of Lords today. Between 700,000 and one million children under the age of five die each year from pneumococcal disease, equivalent to malaria and more than AIDS and tuberculosis.

16 Oct 2008

Despite vaccine, public should not get complacent about pneumococcal disease

Although the childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been a boon in reducing the incidence invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), the public and the medical community must not get complacent, as non-vaccine strains, some resistant to antibiotics, are on the rise, say scientists at a meeting today in Boston.

3 Jun 2008

Health survey reveals interesting facts about NSW residents

A population survey by the NSW Department of Health has revealed a number of interesting facts.

1 Apr 2008

Pneumococcal disease rates down since approval of a vaccine in 2000

Since the approval of a vaccine against pneumococcal bacteria for young children in 2000, rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are down significantly in all age groups, while rates of IPD caused by non-vaccine strains are modestly on the rise.

19 Mar 2008

Vaccinating children younger than age 2 with the pneumococcal vaccine linked to less hospitalizations

Vaccinating children younger than age 2 with the pneumococcal vaccine appears to be associated with decreased hospitalizations from pneumonia and reduced health care expenses, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

4 Dec 2007

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines can improve the lives of HIV-infected children

An international team of experts has published the first comprehensive review of evidence on pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) for children with HIV infection.

29 Nov 2007

Uptake of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine among children in the 1998-2002 United States birth cohorts

Since its addition to the list of routine immunizations in 2000, one childhood vaccine has helped prevent some pneumococcal-related illness, including pneumonia and otitis media.

27 Nov 2007

number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases is at an all-time low

A comparison of illness and death rates for 13 vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S., before and after use of the vaccine, indicates there have been significant decreases in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths for each of the diseases examined, according to a study in the November 14 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Nov 2007

Research highlights importance of adopting current adult pneumococcal vaccination guidelines

Among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, those who had previously received the pneumococcal vaccine had a lower risk of death and admission to the intensive care unit than patients who were not vaccinated, according to a report in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007

Cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in children reduced

The number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children has fallen since the introduction of a new vaccine a year ago. Enhanced surveillance by the UK's Health Protection Agency has shown that cases of IPD caused by the seven major types of the pneumococcus bacteria which the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) protects against have gone down by almost 50%.

20 Sep 2007

Serious illness among children with sickle cell disease reduced with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

A vaccine introduced in 2000 has reduced by more than 90 percent the rate of a serious bacterial illness among young children with sickle cell disease (SCD), who are particularly susceptible to it, according to a new study that appears in the June 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and currently is available online.

2 May 2007

Increase in pneumococcal infections not covered by childhood vaccine

Alaskan native children are experiencing increased rates of serious infections caused by strains of pneumococcal bacteria that are not covered by the current childhood pneumococcal vaccine, indicating the importance of ongoing surveillance of vaccine effectiveness, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA.

25 Apr 2007

British babies to get vaccine against meningitis

Babies in the UK will soon be given a vaccination against the pneumococcal disease meningitis as part and parcel of the standard infant immunisation package.

28 Aug 2006

Europe slow to implement infant pneumococcal vaccine programmes

Up to 90 per cent of cases of invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) - which includes serious infections like meningitis - occur in otherwise healthy young children, according to a study published in the April issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

13 Apr 2006

Health experts meet in Asia to discuss preventing deadly childhood diseases

The deadly diseases pneumonia and meningitis kill an estimated 1.8 million children under the age of 5 years across the globe every year. Of these, more than 700,000 occur in the countries in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions of the World Health Organization (WHO).

30 Mar 2006

New tools in the fight against pneumococci

New tools in the fight against pneumococci - the bugs targeted by vaccines recently announced by the Department of Health - are described by a team led by scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

13 Mar 2006

Preventing pneumonia in children helps prevent pneumonia in older adults

The incidence of pneumonia among older adults has decreased substantially, linked to the introduction of a pneumonia vaccine for children in 2000, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005