Factors associated with pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage: A systematic review.

Pneumococcal disease is a major contributor to global childhood morbidity and mortality and is more common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries. Pneumococcal carriage is a prerequisite for pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine reduces vaccine-type carriage and disease.

A Comparison of Pneumococcal Nasopharyngeal Carriage in Very Young Fijian Infants Born by Vaginal or Cesarean Delivery.

Importance: Pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage is a prerequisite for pneumococcal disease. The main transmission route is from toddlers, who commonly carry pneumococci. However, neonatal pneumococcal disease case reports suggest that vertical pneumococcal transmission may also occur.

Meningitis in children in Fiji: etiology, epidemiology, and neurological sequelae.

Objectives: To describe the etiology, epidemiology, neurological sequelae, and quality of life of children aged 1 month to less than 5 years admitted with meningitis to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH), Suva, Fiji.

Methods: Over a 3-year period, all eligible children with suspected meningitis admitted to CWMH had blood drawn for culture. Of these children, those for whom is was possible were tested for a four-fold rise in antibody titers to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal surface adhesin A (PsaA).

The cost of outpatient pneumonia in children <5 years of age in Fiji.

Objectives: Pneumonia is the most common reason for visiting an outpatient facility among children <5 years old in Fiji. The objective of this study is to describe for the first time the costs associated with an episode of outpatient pneumonia in Fiji, in terms of cost both to the government health sector and to the household.

Methods: Costs were estimated for 400 clinically diagnosed pneumonia cases from two outpatient facilities, one in the capital, Suva, and one in a peri-urban and rural area, Nausori.

Invasive pneumococcal disease in Fiji: clinical syndromes, epidemiology, and the potential impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) epidemiology and the potential impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Fiji are documented. The annual incidence was 26.5 and 10.

Vaccine development for capsulate bacteria causing pneumonia.

Pneumonia strikes the extremes of the age spectrum, causing maximal death and disability in children and the elderly. Despite its worldwide impact, there is a paucity of epidemiologic data regarding its incidence and the causative organisms. The two leading causes of bacterial pneumonia in childhood are Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).