What is pneumococcal infection?
This is a group of diseases caused by a bacterium called pneumococcus. Pneumococcal infection causes diseases of the ears (otitis), lungs (pneumonia), blood (bacteremia, sepsis) and brain (meningitis). Despite the fact that in most patients the infection passes without complications, in some cases serious complications, lifelong disability and even death are possible. Children under 2 years of age and medical risk groups are especially vulnerable to this infection.
Pneumococcal infection is one of the most common causes of bacterial complications of viral infections in children under 2 years of age - otitis, pneumonia, meningitis. Treatment with penicillin and other antibiotics is currently not as effective as it used to be because some strains of pneumococcus have developed resistance to antibiotics. This makes disease prevention through vaccination even more urgent.
What are the symptoms of the disease?
Pneumococcal infection causes a whole group of diseases, so the symptoms depend on which organ is affected.
Pneumococcal pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) causes:
Pneumococcal meningitis (an infection of the meninges) causes:
Pneumococcal infection causes up to 50% of otitis media (ear infections). Symptoms of this disease: pain in the ear; redness and inflammation of the eardrum; sometimes fever or drowsiness.
Pneumococcal bacteremia and pneumococcal sepsis (blood infections) cause fever, chills, and reduced response to external stimuli.
How dangerous are these diseases?
The course of the disease can vary from mild to very severe. For example, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA, about 2,000 cases of severe disease (bacteremia, pneumonia with bacteremia, and meningitis) in children under 5 years of age are registered in the USA each year. These diseases can lead to lifelong disability: deafness, brain damage, loss of limbs. 1 in 12 children who get pneumococcal meningitis dies.
How can you get infected?
Pneumococcal infection spreads through the air: when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or even talks to you from close range. After all, sometimes infected persons do not have symptoms, but are carriers of bacteria that may be in their nasal cavity or oropharynx. Such individuals can also spread the infection and infect others.
How to protect against pneumococcal infection?
Due to the spread of antibiotic resistance (situations when antibiotic treatment loses effectiveness, because due to their excessive use, microorganisms become insensitive to them), prevention of pneumococcal infection by vaccination becomes even more urgent.
In Ukraine, 2 vaccines against pneumococcal infection are registered - Synflorix and Prevenar 13. Both can be used from the age of 6 weeks. Synflorix is used for children under 5 years old, Prevenar 13 - for all age categories. The vaccination scheme depends on the age when it was started. The pneumococcal vaccine is one of the recommended ones and can be purchased at a pharmacy at the patient's own expense and administered in a communal medical facility where he is served, or in a private clinic. Since these vaccines are not included in the national vaccination calendar of Ukraine, their administration schedules are determined by the instructions for these drugs. (Note: In many countries, these vaccines are included in the national calendar, and vaccination schedules for these countries may differ. If you are in another country, follow that country's national recommendations.)
Vaccination schemes against pneumococcal infection with vaccines registered in Ukraine:
Who primarily needs vaccination against pneumococcal infection?
For children up to 2 years old, persons from medical risk groups, elderly people.