title: Epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease in Saudi Arabian children younger than 5years of age.
abstract: This study evaluated the incidence, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Saudi Arabian children. This multicenter, prospective, clinical surveillance study included children under 5years of age, residents of one of the seven study health areas, who were brought to a study hospital with suspicion of IPD. Bacterial isolates from sterile site samples, collected less than 24h after hospital visit/admission, were identified, serotyped, and tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Between June 2007 and January 2009, 631 episodes of suspected IPD were recorded, and 623 were included in the analysis. One child (0.2%) had previously received one dose of a pneumococcal vaccine. Forty-seven episodes were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae and three for Haemophilus influenzae. The incidence of confirmed IPD cases was estimated to be 2.5-21.6 per 100,000 children (<5years). Among the 46 S. pneumoniae isolates serotyped and tested for antibiotic susceptibility, the most common serotypes were 5 and 23F (20% each), 6B (17%), and 1 and 14 (11% each). Sixty-three percent of isolates were multidrug-resistant. Vaccination of Saudi Arabian children with expanded-coverage conjugate pneumococcal vaccines containing serotypes 1 and 5 could have a substantial impact to prevent IPD in this population.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Yagob
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Almazrou
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Al Faisal University, PO Box 50927, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: ashibl@alfaisal.edu.
authors.forename: Atef M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shibl
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Riyadh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alkhlaif
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Pirçon
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sameh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anis
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kandeil
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Hausdorff
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D005260:Female; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines
keywords: Child; Invasive pneumococcal disease; Multi-drug resistance; Saudi Arabia; Serotype; Streptococcus pneumoniae