Reduction of nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci during the second year of life by a heptavalent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine.
Children 12-18 months old were randomized to receive one dose of a conjugate heptavalent pneumococcal vaccine, two doses of the same vaccine, or one dose of a 23-valent native polysaccharide vaccine. Before immunization, pneumococci included in the conjugate vaccine were isolated from 24% of the children, and an antibiotic-resistant pneumococcus was isolated from 22% of the children. The vaccines had no effect on carriage of non-vaccine-type pneumococci. In contrast, there was a significant reduction in carriage of vaccine-type pneumococci 3 months after one dose and 1 month after a second dose of conjugate vaccine (from 25% to 9% and 7%, respectively; P < .001). No effect was seen after vaccination with the nonconjugate vaccine. One year after immunization, carriage of antibiotic-resistant vaccine-type pneumococci in children receiving conjugate vaccine was lower than that in children receiving the nonconjugate vaccine (4% vs. 14%, P = .042). Conjugate pneumococcal vaccines may reduce spread of pneumococci in the community.
Dagan
R
R
Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit and Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Melamed
R
R
Muallem
M
M
Piglansky
L
L
Greenberg
D
D
Abramson
O
O
Mendelman
P M
PM
Bohidar
N
N
Yagupsky
P
P
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D002353:Carrier State; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009304:Nasopharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014611:Vaccination; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate