Publication

Effect of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on the incidence of radiologically-confirmed pneumonia and clinical-defined pneumonia in Kenyan children: an interrupted time-series analysis

Authored by:

Silaba M, Ooko M, Bottomley D, et al.

Full Citation:

Silaba M, Ooko M, Bottomley D, et al. 2019. Effect of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on the incidence of radiologically-confirmed pneumonia and clinical-defined pneumonia in Kenyan children: an interrupted time-series analysis. Lancet Global Health. 7.

View Publication

Additional key concepts from this publication:

Herd effects multiply the benefits of immunization.

Key Evidence: In one of the first studies of real-world use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in Africa, the 10-strain vaccine introduced in Kenya for infants and provided to all children under five in “catch-up” campaigns reduced the incidence of any cause of pneumonia confirmed by a chest X-ray by nearly half (48%) in children 2-59 months of age over a five-year period. This sharp reduction in radiological-confirmed pneumonia is more than twice the reduction seen in several clinical trials of PCV in Africa and Latin America which was around 20-23%.

From the VoICE Editors: The sharp reduction in radiological-confirmed pneumonia as a result of immunization in this study is likely because – unlike in some clinical trials – the herd effects of the vaccine on unvaccinated children were prospectively captured in the study.