More about pneumococcus
This page provides links to PATH's work on pneumococcus and information about the disease and related vaccines.
On the PATH website
Pneumococcal disease
- The pneumococcus bacterium (Streptococcus pneumoniae) is responsible for nearly one million deaths of children less than five years old each year. It can cause pneumonia, meningitis (inflammation of the covering of the brain), otitis media (inner ear infections), and bacteremia (blood stream infection). Children less than two years old are especially vulnerable to infection and more than 95 percent of pneumococcal pneumonia deaths in children occur in low-income countries.
- The bacteria normally are carried in the nose or upper throat and are spread through sneezing, coughing, or speaking closely with an infected person. Thirty to forty percent of children carry the bacteria without showing any signs or symptoms, but they can still infect others.
- Drugs such as penicillin are generally effective for treating pneumococcal disease, but antibiotic-resistant pneumococcus is becoming more common worldwide. This situation makes prevention of the disease, through widespread use of pneumococcal vaccines, even more important.
Pneumococcal vaccines
- Prevnar®, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine produced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Pfizer Inc.), is licensed for use in infants and young children and is effective against the seven serotypes most prevalent in the industrialized world.
- GlaxoSmithKline Biological's Synflorix™ and Wyeth's (Pfizer's) Prevnar 13 Valent™, two other pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, have also entered the market and offer broader protection against 10 and 13 serotypes respectively.
- Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines by Merck and Sanofi Pasteur protect against 23 pneumococcal serotypes, but they are recommended mainly for use in adults.
- Many other vaccine candidates are also in the development pipeline.
- Current pneumococcal vaccines, even with added strain coverage, do not protect against all 90+ pneumococcal serotypes and they are complex and relatively expensive to manufacture.
- Pneumococcal protein vaccines are being developed to be more affordable, as well as to potentially protect against most or all of the disease-causing serotypes of pneumococcus.
Related diseases
There are several key causes of childhood pneumonia and meningitis (inflammation of the covering of the brain), including pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and meningococcus bacteria. Learn more about Hib. Learn more about meningococcus.
In addition, there are a number of repiratory diseases, all of which affect the lungs and airways, including pneumococcus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Hib, and influenza. Learn more about RSV. Learn more about Hib. Learn more about influenza.
References
- O'Brien KL, Wolfson LJ, Watt JP, et al. Burden of Disease Caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Children Younger than 5 Years: Global Estimates. Lancet.
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pneumococcal Vaccination.
- World Health Organization. Acute Respiratory Infections: Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Page last updated: August 2011.
