title: Immunisation with a polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine. Effect of respiratory mortality in children living in the New Guinea highlands.
abstract: In Tari, in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea, each child experienced, on average, two acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI) between birth and age 5 years. The yearly mortality rate from ALRTI was 30 per 1000 in infants, and 4 per 1000 in children aged between 1 and 4 years. A double-blind trial of a 14-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine was carried out on 871 children from this community who were aged between 6 months and 5 years. Morbidity from ALRTI was lower (by 37%) in children given the vaccine provided they were at least 17 months of age at the time of immunisation. There were 8 deaths from ALRTI in the placebo group, but only 1 death in the vaccine group.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009512:New Guinea; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial