Pneumonia Vaccine Shows Dramatic Results

A large clinical trial has found that a new version of a pneumococcal vaccine reduced the incidence of pneumonia in children by more than 20%. In addition, the vaccine reduced the incidence of pneumococcal bloodstream infection by more than 80% in healthy children and by 50% in HIV-infected children. The results were presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases in Anchorage (Alaska, USA).

The study, involving 40,000 children in Soweto, South Africa, was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) and the Medical Research Council of South Africa in collaboration with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Collegeville, PA, USA), which developed the vaccine. In the trial, two groups of infants were randomized to receive either three doses of the vaccine or placebo. The researchers tracked the vaccine's effectiveness over a four-year period. According to the WHO, pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide, resulting in around four million deaths a year. The pneumococcus bacterium is the primary cause.

"With this reduction in the incidence of pneumonia, we could potentially save over 500,000 lives each year in the developing world,” said Dr. Keith P. Klugman, professor of international health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University (Atlanta, G, USA) and principal investigator of the study.




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