Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 12, 2026
Experimental Human Pneumococcal Carriage
Published on: February 15, 2013
Pneumococcal Carriage in Children under Five Years in Uganda-Will Present Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Be
Ann Lindstrand1,2, Joan Kalyango3, Tobias Alfvén1,4
1Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Pneumonia remains a leading cause of child mortality globally. This study found that available pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) covered about half of the common pneumococcal serotypes circulating in Ugandan children before vaccine introduction.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Pneumonia is a major global child killer, with Streptococcus pneumoniae responsible for most deaths.
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are crucial for reducing vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage and disease.
- Uganda introduced PCV in 2014, but lacked baseline data on pneumococcal serotypes in carriage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage prevalence and serotype distribution in Ugandan children under five years old.
- To provide baseline data before the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in Uganda.
Main Methods:
- Conducted three cross-sectional surveys in 2008, 2009, and 2011.
- Collected nasopharyngeal specimens from 1723 children under five years of age.
- Serotyped 927 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Main Results:
- The overall pneumococcal carriage rate was 56%.
- Serotypes 19F, 23F, 6A, 29, and 6B were the most common.
- PCV10 and PCV13 offered potential serotype coverage of 42% and 54%, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Approximately half of the circulating pneumococcal serotypes in the studied Ugandan population were covered by existing PCVs.
- This data is vital for understanding the impact of PCV introduction on pneumococcal disease epidemiology.
Background:
Pneumonia is the major cause of death in children globally, with more than 900,000 deaths annually in children under five years of age. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes most deaths, most often in the form of community acquired pneumonia. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are currently being implemented in many low-income countries. PCVs decrease vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage, a prerequisite for invasive pneumococcal disease, and thereby affects pneumococcal disease and transmission. In Uganda, PCV was launched in 2014, but baseline data is lacking for pneumococcal serotypes in carriage.
Objectives:
To study pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and serotype distribution in children under 5 years of age prior to PCV introduction in Uganda.
Methods:
Three cross-sectional pneumococcal carriage surveys were conducted in 2008, 2009 and 2011, comprising respectively 150, 587 and 1024 randomly selected children aged less than five years from the Iganga/Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. The caretakers were interviewed about illness history of the child and 1723 nasopharyngeal specimens were collected. From these, 927 isolates of S. pneumoniae were serotyped.
Results:
Overall, the carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 56% (957/1723). Pneumococcal carriage was associated with illness on the day of the interview (OR = 1.50, p = 0.04). The most common pneumococcal serotypes were in descending order 19F (16%), 23F (9%), 6A (8%), 29 (7%) and 6B (7%). One percent of the strains were non-typeable. The potential serotype coverage rate for PCV10 was 42% and 54% for PCV13.
Conclusion:
About half of circulating pneumococcal serotypes in carriage in the Ugandan under-five population studied was covered by available PCVs.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:30Pneumonia V: Nursing management and Prevention
The nurse must practice strict medical asepsis and adhere to infection control guidelines to minimize healthcare-associated infections.
Enhance airway patency
Position the patient correctly to facilitate drainage of the affected lung segments. Manual or mechanical percussion and vibration can also be employed....
01:30Pneumonia I: Introduction
Risk Factors
Various factors influence the likelihood of developing pneumonia. Age plays a crucial role, with infants, children under two, and individuals over 65 at increased risk due to their...
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the...
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
01:26Pulmonary Tuberculosis IV
Several diagnostic approaches are used to detect TB. The conventional method is the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST), also known as the Mantoux test. However, this method has...
01:51Vaccinations