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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2008 Jan 1;99(1):57–61. doi: 10.1007/BF03403742

Epidemiology of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in BC during the Introduction of Conjugated Pneumococcal Vaccine

Meghan Winters 112,, David M Patrick 112,212, Fawziah Marra 212, Jane Buxton 112,212, Mei Chong 212, Judith L Isaac-Renton 212,312, Carol Shaw 212, Gregory J Tyrrell 412, Marguerite Lovgren 412, Stephane Paulus 512
PMCID: PMC6976108  PMID: 18435393

Abstract

Objectives

Antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae has increased in recent decades. We linked two surveillance programs to evaluate trends in incidence, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial resistance in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) since the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was introduced in BC in 2003.

Methods

IPD case reports for BC from 2002–2005 from the BC Centre for Disease Control were linked to serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility results from the National Centre for Streptococcus (NCS).

Results

There was a significant decrease in IPD incidence in children <5 from 54/100,000 in 2002 to 16/100,000 population in 2005 (70% decrease, p<0.001). The most dramatic decline was in children aged 1 year, where the rate fell from 135/100,000 to 15/100,000 (89% decrease, p for trend <0.001). Overall, 728/1288 (56.5%) reported cases of IPD were referred to NCS. For all matched cases, the proportion of isolates of PCV7 preventable serotypes decreased from 68.9% to 43.8% (p for trend <0.001) between 2002 and 2005. In children <2 years, this proportion decreased from 83.0% (39/47 cases) to 16.7% (1/6 cases) (p=0.006). The prevalence of non-susceptible isolates was highest for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (15.3%, 111/725 tested), penicillin (9.1%, 66/728), and erythromycin (9.1%, 66/727). 10.3% (75/728) were non-susceptible to ≥2 classes of antimicrobials. Children <15 years of age had the highest proportion of non-susceptible isolates.

Discussion

The incidence of IPD in children has decreased significantly since the introduction of PCV7. Comprehensive serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility can aid in evaluating the impact of immunization programs.

Keywords: Pneumococcal infections, antimicrobial drug resistance, pneumococcal vaccines, Canada

Footnotes

Source of funding: M. Winters was funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Bridge CIHR/MSFHR Training Program, and the Paetzold Fellowship through the University of British Columbia

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