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Invasive pneumococcal disease in Indigenous people in north Queensland, 1999–2004
Author(s) -
Hanna Jeffrey N,
Humphreys Jan L,
Murphy Denise M
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00149.x
Subject(s) - indigenous , pneumococcal disease , disease , geography , medicine , intensive care medicine , streptococcus pneumoniae , biology , ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics
Objective: To describe the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), and the impact of pneumococcal vaccines on IPD, in Indigenous people in north Queensland. Setting: North Queensland, 1999–2004; there are about 53 750 Indigenous people in the region, including nearly 6900 children < 5 years and nearly 5650 adults ≥ 50 years. Main outcome measures: Incidences of IPD in Indigenous children and in Indigenous adults compared between the 3 years before and after the introduction of a 7‐valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) (1999–2001 versus 2002–2004). Results: Estimated annual incidence of IPD in Indigenous children < 5 years of age declined from 170 to 78 cases per 100 000 in the 3 years following the introduction of 7vPCV in 2001. The annual incidence of vaccine‐preventable IPD in Indigenous adults had declined by 86% since a 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) was introduced to the region in 1996, to 15 cases per 100 000 (95% CI, 8–25) in 2002–2004. Conclusion: Although there was a rapid decline in IPD in young Indigenous children, it is unlikely that the incidence will fall much further with the current 7‐valent vaccine. There was a suggestion that vaccinating Indigenous children indirectly protected those aged 5–14 years and Indigenous adults ≥15 years of age. Incidence of IPD in Indigenous adults in 2002–2004 was the lowest on record in the region.