title: Regional advisory board position statement on optimal pneumococcal vaccination in adults. Update to 2011 consensus on adult pneumococcal disease: update on optimal pneumococcal vaccination in adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An important development in the field of adult pneumococcal vaccination since the last Consensus Statement, published by the Expert Panel of Central and Eastern Europe and Israel (the Region) in September 2012, was the licensure of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) for adults aged 50 years and older.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Expert Panel has developed this Position Statement as an update to its previous Consensus to address the following topics which are likely to be on the agenda of national scientific societies during the ongoing updates of vaccination recommendations in the Region: the availability of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for adults over 50 years of age, the available clinical evidence on its use in adults, and the future place of conjugate vaccines in adult pneumococcal vaccination. The Expert Panel concluded that there is sufficient epidemiologic immunogenicity and safety evidence to use PCV 13 in adults over 50 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The use of conjugate vaccine induces immunological memory and can overcome some limitations associated with the plain polysaccharide vaccine (PPV). It was also agreed that, if the use of PPV is considered appropriate, PCV13 should be administered first, regardless of prior pneumococcal vaccination status.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine No. II, Semmelweis Medical University, Budapest, Hungary. eludwig@laszlokorhaz.hu
authors.forename: Endre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.affiliation: Carol Davila University of Medicine, Bucharest and Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumophthisiology, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Miron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bogdan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chlíbek
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology and Phthisiatry Clinic, University Hospital, Pleven, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Yavor
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ivanov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Smolensk State Medical Academy, Smolensk, Russia.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kozlov
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Medical Studies (RCMS), Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, Charité University Medicine of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lode
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Child Health, Szent Laszlo Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Budapest, Hungary
authors.forename: Zsófia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mészner
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prymula
authors.affiliation: lnfectious Disease Unit, Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Galia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rahav
authors.affiliation: National Reference Centre for Bacterial Meningitis, Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology, National Medicines Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skoczyńska
authors.affiliation: Pulmonology Department of National Institute for TB, Lung Diseases and Thoracic Surgery, VySné Hágy, Catholic University, Ruzomberok, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Solovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Diseases, Ege University Medical Faculty, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sayiner
mesh_terms: D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: C538862:13-valent pneumococcal vaccine; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines