Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of childhood illness. Recently a safe and effective 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine for children has been licensed in the EU.
Aims: To calculate the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children in Ireland, to estimate the burden of disease and to anticipate the protective effect of the conjugate vaccine.
Methods: Retrospective review of data from children with IPD.
Results: Ninety-six cases of IPD in 95 children including two related deaths were identified. All childhood IPD incidence was estimated at 10.6/100,000. We anticipate that the 7-valent conjugate vaccine could prevent up to 90% of sepsis and up to 82.5% of meningitis cases.
Conclusions: IPD is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in children in Ireland. Routine use of conjugate pneumococcal vaccine would have a significant impact on pneumococcal disease, especially in vaccinated children but also in unvaccinated children and older adults.