title: Pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease in Taiwan following a national catch-up program with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) has been available in Taiwan since late 2005. A national catch-up program was launched in Taiwan in 2013, providing 1 dose of 13-valent PCV to children aged 2-5 years. Here, we report the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children aged ≤5 years in this setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected demographic and clinical information for pediatric patients (≤5 years) with IPD between 2008 and 2013. The incidence of IPD was estimated. The logs for PCV import into Taiwan were obtained to evaluate the impact of PCV usage on IPD epidemiology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall incidence of IPD in children aged ≤5 years was 15.9 cases per 100,000 person-years. The IPD incidence caused by 7-valent PCV serotypes decreased significantly from 10.0 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2008 to 2.3 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2013. The incidence of IPD caused by serotype 19A increased substantially from 1.7 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2008 to 10.3 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2012, followed by a significant decrease to 5.6 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2013. The significant decrease in the incidence of serotype 19A IPD occurred primarily in children aged 2-5 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 13-valent PCV catch-up program was associated with a significant decrease in serotype 19A IPD incidence in 2013, primarily in children eligible for the 13-valent PCV immunization. Continued surveillance is necessary to assess the further impact of the national catch-up program on pediatric IPD epidemiology in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: From the *Centers for Disease Control; †Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University; ‡Center of General Education, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.); §Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan (R.O.C.); and ¶Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.).
authors.forename: Sung-Hsi
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Chuen-Sheue
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Cheng-Hsun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Pesus
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Tzou-Yien
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D000069443:Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D065288:Serogroup; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: C538862:13-valent pneumococcal vaccine; D000069443:Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate