[The indications for the antipneumococcal vaccine in Spain]

The anti-pneumococcal vaccine, with 23 capsular polysaccharides, is an effective vaccine used in most of the developed countries, although still not commercially available in Spain. Between January 1981 and June 1992, we isolated 784 Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical samples (excluding asymptomatic carriers), 728 of which could be serotyped (300 isolated in hemoculture and/or LCR). 91.5% of the total and 93.3% of the most invasive strains, as well as 98.1% of the penicillin-resistant strains or 98.8% of the isolated multiresistant strains, presented a serotype covered by the current vaccine. The high resistance to antibiotics of the pneumococcus in Spain makes more urgent the indication of the vaccine in our community.