An Epidemiologic Approach to Pneumococcal Disease

In many countries of the developing world, pneumonia remains a leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality. In their quest for effective control measures not dependent on the socioeconomic changes in Western societies that have paralleled a reduction in mortality from pneumonia, these poorer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reviews of infectious diseases 1981-03, Vol.3 (2), p.233-245
Main Authors: Ian D. Riley, Douglas, Robert M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Antibodies
Antibodies, Bacterial - biosynthesis
Bacterial Vaccines - therapeutic use
Carrier State
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Epidemiologic Methods
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Immunization
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
New Guinea
Penicillin Resistance
Pneumococcal Infections - epidemiology
Pneumococcal Infections - prevention & control
Pneumococcal pneumonia
Pneumococcal vaccine
Polysaccharides
Respiratory diseases
Session II: Epidemiology of Pneumococcal Disease
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Streptococcus pneumoniae - immunology
Vaccination
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Summary:In many countries of the developing world, pneumonia remains a leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality. In their quest for effective control measures not dependent on the socioeconomic changes in Western societies that have paralleled a reduction in mortality from pneumonia, these poorer countries are looking towards modern antibiotic therapy and pneumococcal vaccines as short-term approaches to the problem. This paper summarizes information about the response of human populations to Streptococcus pneumoniae with particular reference to the authors' experience in Papua New Guinea, where penicillin resistance is an increasing problem and where pneumococcal vaccines have been shown in field trials to reduce mortality from respiratory disease among both adults and children. In each developing country, basic epidemiologic data are needed to assist in choosing the best available combination of strategies for control of disease due to S. pneumoniae. Our current understanding of the determinants of pneumococcal carriage and pneumococcal disease is still inadequate, however, and there is need for studies of the interaction of the pneumococcus and its host at the mucosal surface to better understand the differences in the behavior observed for the various serotypes.
ISSN:0162-0886