The evidence for using conjugate vaccines to protect HIV-infected children against pneumococcal disease.

Abstract

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are a potentially useful complement to existing treatment strategies in HIV-infected children, for whom pneumococcal infections are common and serious. This Review summarises available data on the burden of pneumococcal disease and the safety and efficacy of PCVs in HIV-infected children. The data demonstrate that children with HIV have significantly increased risk of pneumococcal disease compared with uninfected children; the serotypes included in currently licensed or near-licensure conjugate vaccines include most serotypes that cause invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in HIV-infected children and adults; PCVs provide substantial protection against IPD and clinical pneumonia when given to HIV-infected infants; and HIV-infected adults gain an indirect benefit when children in the community are vaccinated. PCV should be considered as an important intervention for improving the lives of HIV-infected children.

• Authors: Sandra J Bliss, Katherine L O'Brien, Edward N Janoff, Mark F Cotton, Philippa Musoke, Hoosen Coovadia, Orin S Levine
• Journal: The Lancet. Infectious diseases (Lancet Infect Dis) Vol. 8 Issue 1 Pg. 67-80 (Jan 2008) ISSN: 1473-3099 [Print] United States
• PMID: 17974480 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Pneumococcal Vaccines
• Vaccines, Conjugate

Topics

• AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections (microbiology, prevention & control)
• Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active (methods)
• Child
• HIV
• HIV Infections (immunology, microbiology)
• Humans
• Pneumococcal Infections (prevention & control, virology)
• Pneumococcal Vaccines (immunology, therapeutic use)
• Streptococcus pneumoniae (immunology)
• Vaccines, Conjugate (immunology, therapeutic use)