Pediatria pre prax 3/2008

PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASES AND POSSIBILITIES OF PREVENTION

Pneumococcal diseases belong among the most frequent respiratory bacterial diseases, afflicting various age cohorts. In children under 2 years of age and vice versa in persons 65 and above are clinical courses the most serious. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes diversiform scale of various diseases in childhood ranging from the most serious invasive like meningitis and septicemias through pneumonias up to life as a rule not threatening but all the more frequent acute otitis and sinusitis. Incidence of pneumococcal diseases varies in different countries. Either the mass immunization strategy or risk group strategy are applied in the EU in current situation. Among the mass strategies schedules 2 plus 1 or 3 plus 1 are put on.

Keywords: pneumococci, invasive pneumococcal diseases, acute otitis media, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, mass immunization