Abstract
Despite the licensure of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the US and other Western countries for over 14 years, as of September 2014 only 4 South Asian countries were using PCV in their universal immunization program. To generate momentum toward addressing this issue a “South Asia symposium on pneumococcal disease and the promise of vaccines” was organized just prior to the 9th international symposium on pneumococci and pneumococcal diseases held in India recently. Leading scientists, program managers, and decision makers including ministry officials from the region participated in the meeting. The participants discussed available data on pneumococcal disease burden in South Asia, surveillance methods, efficacy and safety of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), the status of PCV introduction, programmatic challenges in introducing PCV and available data on the impact of PCV in South Asia and globally. There was a strong consensus that available data on disease burden and the global experience with PCV justified the introduction PCV in all Asian countries in order to accelerate the gains in child survival in the region.
Highlights
The ninth international symposium on pneumococci and pneumococcal diseases (ISPPD-9) was held in Hyderabad, India from March 9 to 13, 2014
ISPPD-9 reviewed advancements made in these areas, and examined evidence that could inform the development of policies and programs relating to pneumococcal disease, and accelerate access to pneumococcal vaccines in the world’s poorest countries
It provided an extraordinary opportunity to foster collaborations, promote knowledge sharing and examine topics ranging from the epidemiology of and diagnostics for pneumococcal disease to the development of disease control policies in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs)
Summary
The ninth international symposium on pneumococci and pneumococcal diseases (ISPPD-9) was held in Hyderabad, India from March 9 to 13, 2014. It provided an extraordinary opportunity to foster collaborations, promote knowledge sharing and examine topics ranging from the epidemiology of and diagnostics for pneumococcal disease to the development of disease control policies in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs) To this aim, a satellite meeting – the South Asia symposium on pneumococcal disease and the promise of vaccines – was held in conjunction with ISPPD on March 9, 2014. In Sri Lanka, data on antibiotic sensitivity gathered from pneumococcal surveillance informed changes in the antibiotic prescription policy [11] Despite these successes, several concerns about the sustainability of these WHO-supported networks were raised, the dependence on external funding of ongoing surveillance activities, the lack of country leadership and the immediate need for establishing adequate surveillance systems in order to monitor serotype replacement in countries post-vaccine introduction [11]. With the introduction of PCV in countries in the region, panel participants concluded there was potential to leverage existing surveillance systems for important post-introduction impact evaluation studies and routine surveillance, in order to do so, countries would need to take ownership, and exert political pressure in order to enhance resources to support the establishment of additional surveillance sites as needed and strengthen existing systems
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