ASSESSMENT OF THE PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINATION PROGRAMME IN MANGISTAU REGION, KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Pneumonia is one of the main contributors to infant mortality in Kazakhstan. In 2010, Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic introduced pneumococcal vaccine into the national immunization scheme. Mangistau region was one of the two first regions where the vaccination became routine from 1 December 2010 using a WHO certified PCV-13 vaccine. The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the number of hospitalizations of children aged 0-5 years for pneumonia in the region before and after introduction of vaccination programme; 2) to compare duration of hospital stay of children with pneumonia before and after introduction of vaccination programme and 3) to compare time between the first visit to medical services and hospitalization of children with pneumonia before and after introduction of vaccination programme. Data to answer these three research questions were analyzed using multivariable negative binomial regression, multiple linear regression and multivariable logistic regression, respectively. All coefficients and odds ratios (OR) are presented with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). We observed a significant reduction of the number of cases of pneumonia by 22 (95 % CI: 6-38) % in 2011 and by 33 (95 % CI: 16-49) % in 2012 compared to 2009. No changes in the duration of hospital stay (β = 0.28; 95 % CI: -0.06; 0.64) or the number of days (0-6 vs. 7 days or more) between the first contact with the healthcare system (OR = 1.0; 95 % ДИ: 0.8-1.2) and hospitalization were found. Our results suggest that the introduction of vaccination against pneumococcal infection contributed to the overall reduction of the number of cases of pneumonia among children aged 0-5 years in Mangistau region, Kazakhstan.