Invasive pneumococcal infection due to serotype 15A after the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine implementation in Turkey

Abstract

Invasive pneumococcal infections among children are a serious public health problem in many countries, including Turkey. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been included in Turkey's National Immunization Programme since 2009. We report the first two pediatric cases of invasive pneumococcal infection due to non-vaccine serotype 15A after pneumococcal conjugate vaccine implementation in Turkey. It is essential to monitor the countries’ own local seroepidemiologic data for detecting selective pressure of non-vaccine serotypes of S. pneumonia.

Keywords

• child
• invasive pneumococcal infection
• serotype 15a
• serotype replacement