What Is Pneumococcal Disease?
Pneumococcal disease is any disease caused by bacteria called
Streptococcus pneumoniae. These include:
1 - Meningitis
- Bacteraemia
- Sepsis
- Pneumonia
How Serious Is Pneumococcal Disease?
Some of these diseases, such as meningitis (swelling of tissue around the brain and spinal cord) and bacteremia (blood poisoning), can be very serious.
2 In fact, pneumococcal meningitis in childhood has been associated with 5% mortality and may result in neurological sequelae (10-15%), and hearing loss (15-20%) in survivors.
3 S. pneumoniae is also a leading cause of pneumonia and acute ear infections.
1 Prevnar
® 13 is not indicated to reduce mortality, neurological sequelae and hearing loss.
How Does It Spread?
The bacteria can be passed from person to person through sneezing, kissing and sharing utensils and toys. Most people who are exposed to the bacteria do not get sick.
2 How Common Is Pneumococcal Disease in Canada?
In 2002, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) estimated that pneumococcal disease was quite common in Canada. Each year in children less than five, it is thought to cause 65 cases of meningitis, 700 cases of bacteremia and 9,000 cases of pneumonia not requiring hospitalization.
1 Who Is at Risk?1
- Children <5 years, especially those <2 years and the elderly
- Children enrolled in daycare*
- Children living in Aboriginal populations
- Children with underlying medical conditions
- HIV-infected children
- Children with functional or anatomic asplenia
*Daycare is defined as any setting outside the home where a child regularly spends four or more hours/week with two or more unrelated children under adult supervision.4,5
Has Prevnar® (7-valent) Helped with a Decline of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Children?
Incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease seen in children <2 years†
- 94% decrease in incidence of disease due to pneumococcal strains covered by Prevnar® (7-valent).6
Ongoing surveillance is needed to determine the long-term direct and indirect effects of Prevnar
® (7-valent) and PPV23 (23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine) in the prevention of pneumococcal infection.
Can Pneumococcal Disease Be Treated?
Yes, with antibiotics.
2 Prevnar® 13 is not intended to be used in the treatment of active infection. Prevnar® 13 will not help to protect against S. pneumoniae disease other than that caused by the thirteen serotypes included in the vaccine. As with any vaccine, Prevnar® 13 may not protect 100% of individuals receiving the vaccine.7
†Based on a 2007 population-based surveillance of all cases of invasive S. pneumoniae infections occurring in the Calgary Health Region (from 60 cases per 100,000 in 1998-2001 combined to 26 per 1000,000 in 2003-2007). Conducted by the Calgary-area Streptococcus pneumoniae Epidemiology Research (CASPER) team.
1. National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). Statement on recommended use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Canada Communicable Disease Report 2002;28(ACS-2):1-32.
2. Health Canada. Healthy Living Pneumococcal Vaccine. Accessed July 2, 2009 at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/med/pneum-fra.php.
3. Public Health Agency of Canada. Seventh Edition Canadian Immunization Guide, 2006.
4. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Preventing pneumococcal disease among infants and young children MMWR 2000;49(RR09):1-38.
5. Levine OS, et al. Risk Factors for Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Children: A Population-based Case-Control Study in North America. Journal of Pediatrics 1999;103:1-5.
6. Kellner JD, et al. Changing epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease in Canada, 1998-2007: update from the Calgary-area Streptococcus pneumonia research (CASPER) study. CID 2009;49.
7. Prevnar 13® Product Monograph. Pfizer Canada Inc., November 2010.
