Pneumococcus is a serious topic. Many young parents do not know what effects pneumococcal infection can have on their child or how Streptococcus pneumoniae disease develops. The most common doubts about this disease are dispelled by Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot.

Pneumococci can be dangerous - in the case of invasive infection, when they enter the blood, they can cause sepsis, pneumonia with fluid in the pleural cavity or meningitis. Pneumococcal bacteria are enveloped bacteria, otherwise known as pneumococcus. Vaccinations against pneumococci are available in Poland - in the case of children, the 10-valent vaccine is reimbursed by the Ministry of He alth. However, parents have a choice and can purchase the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine.

Contents:

  1. Pneumococcus. What are the types of pneumococci and are all types of bacteria dangerous?
  2. How often do people get pneumococcal disease?
  3. How is pneumococcal infection treated?
  4. Is the pneumococcal vaccine safe?
  5. What is the difference between the 10-valent vaccine and the 13-valent vaccine?
  6. Which children should not be vaccinated? Is it possible to vaccinate premature babies?
  7. Can an adult get vaccinated against pneumococci?
  8. What are the most common vaccination symptoms?

Pneumococcus. What are the types of pneumococci and are all types of bacteria dangerous?

Dr Aneta Górska-Kot : Pneumococcus or pneumoniae is a bacterium belonging to the group of enveloped bacteria. This means that the "body" of the bacteria is surrounded by a cotton candy quilt. This quilt is the pneumococcus shell and it is this shell that is responsible for the virulence of bacteria. Depending on how thick the quilt is, what color it is, what structure of the surface, there are different types of pneumococci, the so-called serotypes.

To date, more than 90 serotypes have been discovered and described, but only 20 of them are dangerous to humans, the rest our immune system deals with. Therefore, the entire effort of scientists in the world has been, and is still going, to create a vaccine that would protect against these twenty serotypes.

Initially, a vaccine was created thatit protected against seven serotypes, then the one that protected against ten, the last, the most modern one, protects against thirteen serotypes. Work on a vaccine to protect against all twenty types of pneumococcus is ongoing and well advanced.

How often do people get pneumococcal disease?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : As the name suggests - pneumonia diphtheria - it is the main bacteria responsible for pneumonia in humans. And if it were just pneumonia … Pneumococcus is the most common cause of bacterial infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract, both in children and adults.

So otitis media, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia - all this is due to the pneumococcus. These inflammations are called non-invasive infections - associated with mucous membranes, where pneumococcus destroys the epithelium of the respiratory tract but does not enter the blood.

In a situation of reduced immunity - and this is especially common in young children - this dangerous bacterium can get into the blood and cause the so-called invasive infections. Examples of these infections include sepsis, meningitis, and even severe fluid pneumonia. These infections always require hospitalization, sometimes intensive care, and sometimes even fatal.

How is pneumococcal infection treated?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : Before we start talking about treatment, we should distinguish infection from being a carrier. Carrier, or asymptomatic colonization, concerns young children. It begins in the first months of life, peaking around 2-3 years of age, and gradually fades away around age 5. Carriage is a state where pneumococcus lives on the epithelium of the child's respiratory tract and does nothing to it - until the child's immunity drops. We do not treat carriers.

If, on the other hand, we have infections related to mucous membranes, i.e. otitis, sinuses, bronchitis, and lung infections, we treat them with oral antibiotics at home. However, these infections would not be a reason to be so afraid of pneumococci. It is really dangerous when pneumococci enter the bloodstream - this is how sepsis develops, which can be a fatal disease. We always treat her in the hospital, always with intravenous antibiotics and supportive treatment, and yet it happens that the patient ends up in the intensive care unit and despite many efforts of the medical staff, he loses the fight with pneumococcus and dies.

Is the pneumococcal vaccine safe?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : In the case of the pneumococcal vaccine, asfor any other vaccine, the process to market, from antigen identification to registration, takes about 8 to 10 years and costs about $ 500 million to $ 1 trillion.

It is so expensive because the vaccine is repeatedly put through all sorts of clinical trials and safety tests. For the pneumococcal vaccine, more than 14,000 doses were administered to he althy infants in controlled clinical trials to verify the safety of the product.

What is the difference between the 10-valent vaccine and the 13-valent vaccine?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : The 10-valent vaccine protects against ten pneumococcal serotypes, and the 13-valent vaccine against thirteen. These three serotypes are serotypes 3, 6 and 19A.

According to the data of KOROUN (National Reference Center for the Diagnostics of Infections of the Central Nervous System - ed.) - the only institution that is a source of information on the epidemiology of pneumococcal infections in Poland, the most common serotype occurring in our country is serotype no. 3. And it is he who is responsible for deaths due to invasive pneumococcal disease of Polish patients.

The second differentiating serotype - 19A - is a serotype recognized by the world of science as the worst pneumococcal serotype, burdened with the highest virulence, antibiotic resistance and, unfortunately, also mortality among the infected.

Which children should not be vaccinated? Is it possible to vaccinate premature babies?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : All children should be vaccinated against pneumococci, especially premature babies, because their immune system is very immature. Before the pneumococcal vaccine was introduced as general vaccination, it was reimbursed just for premature babies and children with chronic diseases, such as defects in the immune, nervous, heart and circulatory systems, as well as for children with chronic respiratory diseases.

Can an adult get vaccinated against pneumococci?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : Of course. In the case of adults, it is dedicated especially to those who suffer from respiratory diseases and the elderly - after the age of 65, because the immune system also ages and becomes ineffective over the years.

What are the most common vaccination symptoms?

Dr. Aneta Górska-Kot : The most frequently reported side effects in children aged 6 months to 5 years are vaccination site reactions, fever, irritability, decreased appetite andsleepiness or insomnia. More rarely, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, even more rarely convulsions, urticaria, or hyporesponsive-hypotonic episodes. It is a vaccine with a good safety profile, although adverse reactions to the vaccine occur as with any other vaccine.

Category:

Infectious diseases