title: Pneumococcal disease in United States children: prevalence and treatment.
abstract: The emergence and spread of drug-resistant pneumococcal strains among infants and young children in the United States have complicated the management of infections such as community-acquired pneumonia, meningitis, bacteraemia and OM. The rapidly escalating prevalence of drug-resistant S. pneumoniae and the limited therapeutic options to successfully treat these resistant organisms accentuate the need for vaccine prevention. Successful trials with the pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine have demonstrated that it is highly effective against invasive disease, safe and immunogenic in infants, who are a high-risk population for pneumococcal disease. Trials evaluating the efficacy of this vaccine against OM and pneumonia are in progress. The pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine should provide physicians with an effective means of preventing pneumococcal infections.
authors.affiliation: Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas, Richardson, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clanton
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate
chemical_list: D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate