A retrospective study of invasive pneumococcal disease in patients from Greater Göteborg in 1964- 1980 identified 125 cases of meningitis, 305 of pneumonia, 61 of septicemia with unknown focus, and 17 with other manifestations, all verified by cultures from normally sterile body fluids. The incidence was several times higher in infants and in the elderly than in any other age-group. A wide variety of underlying conditions were present in 23% of the infants, 34% of the children, and 81% of the adults. In adults alcoholism was known in one third of the cases. The case fatality rate was 24% among patients with underlying conditions and 9% among previously healthy individuals. The case fatality rate was 50% in patients with hospital-acquired infection. Twohundred-fifteen pneumococcal strains, isolated from blood or CSF from 1971 to 1983 at the laboratories of clinical bacteriology of Göteborg, Malmö, and Umeå were serotyped by coagglutination (COA). Of all isolates, 89% belonged to serotypes represented in the 23-valent vaccine. In a separate study COA was compared with counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE). COA was found to have several advantages; rapidity, lower cost, and ability to disclose serotypes with neutral charge, which constituted 19% of all strains. In a prospective study the etiology was determined in 196 hospitalized patients with pneumonia, most of them community-acquired. Culture of specimens from blood, transtracheal aspirate (TTA), sputum, and nasopharynx, assays of antigen in sputum, urine, and TTA, and assays of pneumococcal antibodies to capsular polysaccharide, C-polysaccharide, and pneumolysin in paired sera were performed. The etiology was established in 64% of the patients. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common agent (32%). In a serological study of patients with pneumococcal infection, diagnosed by culture of CSF, TTA, or blood, IgG antibodies against C-polysaccharide and pneumolysin were determined by ELISA. The diagnostic sensitivity was only 51% and 60%, respectively. In conclusion, invasive pneumococcal disease is strongly overrepresented at tender and high age and in patients with concomitant conditions, notably alcoholism. S. pneumoniae remains a predominant causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia in adults needing hospitalization. Due to the low sensitivity and/or specificity of individual microbiological techniques, a combined use of several techniques is necessary when trying to assess the relative importance of pneumococci and other agents in pneumonia. Extended use of the currently available pneumococcal vaccine and development of improved pneumococcal vaccines seem highly warranted. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1993, härtill 5 uppsatser.</p> / digitalisering@umu.se

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Feb. 6, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2009. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2006. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 86 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

This diploma thesis deals with the seniors' awareness about vaccinations against pneumococcal infections. The aim of the thesis was to map out the seniors' awareness about vaccination against pneumococcal infections. The research was made by means of qualitative method and following questions were chosen: 1. What is the level of seniors' awareness about vaccination against pneumococcal infections? 2. How do the practitioners participate on the seniors' awareness about vaccination against pneumococcal virus? 3. How big is the interest of seniors about vaccination against pneumococcal infections? 4. What is the influence of media on the seniors' awareness about vaccination against pneumococcal virus? The data gathering took place by means of the semi-structured interview technique. The interviews were recorded on a dictaphone, then rewritten, coded and categorised. The research set consisted of 15 respondents aged 65-83 who lived in the Pelhřimov region. The respondents were chosen by means of plain purposeful selection. From the results of the research emerged, that the awareness of respondents about vaccination against pneumococcal infections is low. The respondents knew neither the name of the vaccine nor which diseases are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The practitioners didn't provide the respondents with needed information about vaccination against pneumococcus. The respondents didn't show much interest for the vaccination against pneumococcal virus, because they didn't have enough valid information. Media didn't record almost any effect on the process of vaccination against pneumococcal diseases, because the seniors didn't take the information as suggestive and didn't give them much attention. According to these facts, it would be appropriate to raise the awareness of seniors about vaccination against pneumococcal viruses. The practitioners should inform the seniors more, primarily about the possibilities of vaccination, and give them enough needed information about pneumococcal diseases. So that even I could contribute to raise the awareness of the respondents, I created an informational flyer, which is also a part of the attachments of this diploma thesis.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2014-12-01T16:24:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação- Weslley José Moreira Garcia - 2013.pdf: 1042957 bytes, checksum: a4d228204aeaaf723a235c9bd9929256 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-12-04T14:30:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação- Weslley José Moreira Garcia - 2013.pdf: 1042957 bytes, checksum: a4d228204aeaaf723a235c9bd9929256 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-04T14:30:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação- Weslley José Moreira Garcia - 2013.pdf: 1042957 bytes, checksum: a4d228204aeaaf723a235c9bd9929256 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-23 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Brazil was the first country to introduce the pneumococcal conjugate 10valent vaccine into the National Immunization Program for infants, in 2010. The nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae occurs early in life. It is the first step for the development of invasive diseases. So far no study has evaluated the impact of vaccination on the reduction on pneumococcal carriage. The evaluation of the impact of vaccination should based on technologies with high accuracy. In this investigation we applied molecular technologies, recently developed, to ascertain pneumococcal nasopharyngeal colonization and serotypes. Objectives: (i) to compare the prevalence of S. pneumoniae nasopharyngeal colonization by using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and multiplex PCR, and culture (“gold standard”) in children residing in Goiania municipality; (ii) to evaluate the simultaneous colonization by different serotypes by using the multiplex PCR technique. Methods: A household populationbased survey was carried out between October/2010 and March/2011 by using a systematic sampling, weighted by census tract. Based on previous studies, the sample size was calculated taking into account an estimated 50% of pneumocococcal carriage. A total of 1,437 nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from children less than 24 months of age. Broth-enriched culture of nasopharynx specimens followed by pneumococcal isolation by both, culture and RT-PCR targeting the lytA gene (S. pneumoniae) were performed. Pneumococcal carriage was defined for RT-PCR Cycle threshold (Ct) < 35.0, and therefore all samples were submitted to multiplex PCR to detect serotypes. ROC curve (Receiver Operating Characteristics) were built up to identify Ct values predicted of S. pneumoniae positive culture. Results: The prevalence of pneumococcal carriage by RT-PCR (56.9%) was statistically higher (p< 0,001), compared to that obtained by culture (39.3%), regardless of the vaccination status. Among the 818 positive children/samples by RT-PCR, in 54.2% of them it was possible to detect the serotype. Simultaneous colonization by different types was found in 6.9% of the children. Ct values Ct33.0 showed the best accuracy (91.4%) to predict positive pneumococcal culture (Sensitivity=88% and Specificity=81.2%). When using Ct values  32.0 we found the best accuracy of multiplex PCR in detecting serotypes (Sensitivity =90% and Specificity =84,7%). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that RT-PCR and multiplex PCR techniques showed great potential to be used in evaluating the vaccination impact. Further studies are needed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using these technologies on a large scale. / O Brasil foi o primeiro pais a introduzir a vacina pneumocócica conjugada, 10-valente (PCV10), no Programa de Imunização infantil, em 2010. A colonização nasofaringeana pelo Streptococcus pneumoniae ocorre na infância e é etapa obrigatória para desenvolvimento da doença invasiva. Até o momento nenhum estudo avaliou o impacto da vacinação na redução do estado de portador. Para avaliação do impacto de vacinas deve-se utilizar tecnologias de alta acurácia. Este estudo utiliza técnicas moleculares, recentemente desenvolvidas, para detecção de pneumococo e sorotipos de secreção nasofaringeana.Objetivos: (i) Comparar a prevalência de colonização nasofaringeana por S. pneumoniae pelas técnicas de PCR em tempo real (RT-PCR) e cultura (―padrão-ouro‖) em crianças residentes em Goiânia no primeiro ano de introdução da PCV10; (ii) avaliar a colonização simultânea por pneumococo por diferentes sorotipos por meio da reação de PCR multiplex. Métodos: Um inquérito populacional domiciliar foi conduzido de outubro/2010 a março/2011, com coleta de 1.437 swabs nasofaríngeos de crianças < 24 meses de idade. A amostragem foi sistemática, ponderada por setor censitário, com tamanho da amostra calculado para prevalência esperada de 50% de portador. O isolamento do pneumococo foi realizado a partir do caldo enriquecido (meio STGG). A cultura foi realizada pela semeadura do caldo em placas de Agar sangue de carneiro. A RT-PCR foi direcionada para o gene lytA do pneumococo, utilizando como positividade valores do ciclo da PCR (Ct-Cycle threshold) <35,0. A reação de PCR multiplex para sorotipagem foi realizada para amostras com valores de Ct<35,0. Foram construídas curvas ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristics) para identificação de valores de Ct preditivos de cultura positiva e de tipo capsular. Resultados: A prevalência de pneumococo obtida pela RT-PCR foi de 56,9%, estatisticamente maior do que a prevalência de 39,3% obtida pela cultura (p< 0,001), independente da situação vacinal da criança. Dentre as 818 crianças positivas pela RT-PCR, em 54,2% delas foi possível detectar-se o tipo capsular. Cocolonização por diferentes sorotipos foi encontrada em 6,9% (100/1.437) das crianças. Valores de Ct33,0 apresentaram a melhor acurácia (91,4%) na predição de cultura positiva para pneumococo (sensibilidade/S=88% e especificidade/E=81,2%). Para detecção de sorotipos a melhor acurácia da PCR multiplex foi para valores de Ct32,0 (S=90% e E=84,7%). Conclusão: Os resultados sugerem que as técnicas de PCR em tempo real e multiplex apresentam grande potencial para serem utilizadas em estudos de avaliação de impacto da vacinação, respectivamente no portador e nos sorotipos vacinais. Estudos deverão ser conduzidos para se avaliar o custo-benefício da utilização desta tecnologia em larga escala.

Introdução: Pessoas infectadas pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV) têm alto risco de desenvolver doença pneumocócica. Infecções invasivas pelo Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococo) lideram a morbidade e a mortalidade entre crianças, idosos e pessoas com doenças de base que comprometem o sistema imune ou diminuem a função esplênica. A infecção pelo HIV está associada a um aumento de até dez vezes na incidência das pneumonias bacterianas no mundo. S. pneumoniae é o agente mais comum identificado. A imunização contra S. pneumoniae tem sido recomendada para indivíduos infectados pelo HIV em vários países, incluindo o Brasil, onde a vacina de polissacarídeos antipneumococo com 23 sorotipos (PPV-23) está sendo utilizada desde 1993. A efetividade da vacina de polissacarídeos antipneumococo varia entre 60 a 80% entre adultos com função imunológica relativamente normal. Entre adultos infectados pelo HIV, os estudos realizados até o momento apresentam resultados inconclusivos ou mesmo contraditórios. Objetivo: o objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a efetividade da vacina de polissacarídeos antipneumococo 23-valente (PPV-23) em uma amostra da população adulta infectada pelo HIV, em São Paulo. Métodos: Estudo de caso controle, tipo caso-incidente, entre adultos infectados pelo HIV, em São Paulo. A exposição é ter sido vacinado com a vacina 23 valente e o desfecho é infecção invasiva causada pelo S. pneumoniae. Caso: pessoa infectada pelo HIV, >=18 anos de idade, com doença invasiva por pneumococo, diagnosticada por meio de cultura positiva (isolamento de S. pneumoniae) em material biológico obtido de qualquer fluido corporal normalmente estéril. Controle: pessoa infectada pelo HIV, com >=18 anos de idade, recebendo cuidados nas mesmas instituições, sem doença invasiva por pneumococo, com o mesmo nível de células T CD4+ no mesmo período do diagnóstico do caso, estratificadas por faixas (CD4<200; CD4>=200<=499; >=500) cels/mm3. Foram conduzidas análise univariada e regressão logística condicional. Resultados: 79 casos e 241 controles foram incluídos, média de 39 anos, 63% do sexo masculino, mais de 50% com escolaridade entre média e fundamental, 63,5% brancos, 19% vivendo em condições precárias de habitação. Idade, sexo e raça não diferiram entre casos e controles. Bacteremia foi a manifestação clínica mais freqüente. Fatores de risco associados à doença pneumocócica incluíram: uso de alcool, de drogas injetáveis, ter menor nível de escolaridade, condições precárias de habitação, contato próximo com criança <10 anos e hospitalizações prévias por pneumonia. O uso de anti-retrovirais e a vacina antipneumocócica estiveram associados com uma diminuição do risco. A efetividade da vacina foi de aproximadamente 65% (OR=0,35 IC95%:0,18-0,70). Após ajustar por alguns fatores associados à doença invasiva (uso de drogas injetáveis, hospitalização prévia por pneumonia e uso de ARV), o possível efeito protetor da vacina (OR=, EV=54%) perdeu sua significância estatística (IC95% 0,27-1,13). Amostras de 47 casos foram sorotipadas. Conclusão: Este é o primeiro estudo a avaliar a efetividade da vacina de polissacarídeos antipneumocócica entre os indivíduos infectados pelo HIV no Brasil, e a incluir dados sobre a distribuição dos sorotipos de pneumococo neste subgrupo. A vacina anti-pneumocócica e o uso de anti-retrovirais atuaram como fatores protetores contra doença pneumocócica invasiva. Estes resultados reforçam a recomendação do uso da vacina no Brasil, e indicam a necessidade de estudos com amostras maiores que possam elucidar de forma inequívoca o efeito da vacina antipneumocócica entre portadores do HIV / Background: HIV-infected individuals are at increased risk of bacterial pneumonia in general and of pneumonia due to S. pneumoniae in particular. S. pneumoniae is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children, elderly and those with underlying conditions that compromise the immune system or diminish the splenic function. HIV infection is associated to a tenfold increase in the incidence of bacterial pneumonias worldwide and S. pneumoniae is the most common causal agent identified. Immunization against S. pneumoniae with Polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for use in HIV-infected adults in Brazil. The effectiveness of PPV23 ranges from to approximately 30 to 80%, among those with normal immune function. Among HIV-infected adults, studies have suggested contradictory or inconclusive results. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine among HIV-infected adult patients in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A prospective matched case-control study among HIV-infected adults in São Paulo. Exposure is vaccination with PPV-23 and outcome is invasive disease. Case definition: HIV-infected individual over 18 years old, with invasive pneumococcal disease, defined as recovery of S. pneumoniae from a normally sterile site (e.g. such as blood, pleural fluid, spinal fluid, pericardial fluid). Controls: HIV-infected individuals over 18 years of age, with o history of documented or strong suspicion of invasive pneumococcal disease, receiving medical care at the same group of institutions, matched to the cases by level of CD4 lymphocyte cell counts, according to the following (<200; 200=500 cells/mm3), measured during the same period. Results: 79 cases and 241 controls were included; mean age of 39 years; 63% male; education level lower than high school for 50% of the sample; 63,5% whites, 19% reported living in \"sub-standard\" housing. Bacteremia was the most frequent clinical manifestation. Risk factors associated with invasie disease: alcohol use, IDU, lower level of education, \"sub-standard\" housing, close contact with child less than 10 years old and previous hospitalization with pneumonia. ARV use and pneumococcal vaccine were associated to decreased risk. Overall vaccine effectiveness was 65% (OR=0,35 IC95%:0,18-0,70). After adjustment for confounding factors (IDU, hospitalization with pneumonia, and ARV use) the point estimate for the effectiveness of 23-valent polysaccharide against all invasive pneumococcal infection was 45% (95% CI: <0% to 73%). Isolates from 47 were available for serotyping. 40 (85%) were of serotypes included in the PPV-23. All 11 isolates from previously vaccinated cases were of serotypes included in the vaccine. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study to evaluate vaccine effectiveness among HIV-infected persons in Brazil and the first to include data on pneumococcal serotype distribution among HIV-infected adults in Sao Paulo. Although we were not able to provide definitive answers regarding vaccine effectiveness among the specific population, we reinforce the role of anti-retroviral therapy on preventing invasive disease. Our findings support the continuity of the recommendation on immunizing HIV-infected patients with the polysaccharide vaccine at the same time that reinforces the need of more data on the subject

As infecções pneumocócicas são uma importante causa de morbi-mortalidade entre as crianças. Até 2000, era disponível apenas a vacina pneumocócica polissacarídica 23valente, de uso a partir dos 2 anos de idade. Essa vacina era recomendada para crianças com fibrose cística (FC) e para as asmáticas em uso de corticóide oral, dentre outras recomendações. A partir de 2000, licenciou-se a vacina pneumocócica conjugada 7valente, com grande impacto contra infecções causadas pelos sorotipos vacinais. Nos países onde as crianças não são universalmente vacinadas com essa vacina, as recomendações permanecem as mesmas. Atualmente, os adultos asmáticos estão incluídos nas recomendações para vacinação pneumocócica nos EUA. Há poucos estudos sobre o risco de doença pneumocócica em crianças asmáticas per si e naquelas com fibrose cística e sobre a resposta à vacina pneumocócica conjugada. Salienta-se que ainda não há um critério estabelecido para avaliar a resposta sorológica a essa vacina. Recentemente, foi sugerido o critério de 0,35mcg/ml por Elisa para se correlacionar com proteção para doença invasiva pneumocócica. Objetivou-se determinar a concentração dos anticorpos contra os sorotipos vacinais contidos na vacina pneumocócica conjugada 7valente em crianças com asma moderada em uso de corticóide inalatório e em crianças com fibrose cística; avaliando-as pelos critérios de 0,35mcg/ml, 1,3mcg/ml e aumento de 4 vezes o título pós em relação ao pré-vacinal, para cada sorotipo e para a vacina, considerando-se a positividade para 5 sorotipos. Foram avaliadas 18 crianças em cada grupo. A mediana da idade foi de 82,5m nas asmáticas e 69,5m naquelas com FC. Foi colhida amostra para sorologia pré-vacinação e outra após 2 doses da vacina conjugada. As concentrações de anticorpos para os sorotipos vacinais foram quantificadas pelo Elisa. Para 0,35mcg/ml de corte, a grande maioria nos dois grupos já era positiva à inclusão para os sorotipos vacinais e à vacina. Considerando-se o valor de 1,3mcg/ml, entre os que eram negativos, as crianças asmáticas responderam entre 66,7% (9V) e 100% (14), e as com FC, entre 50% (19F) e 100% (6B e 14); e, em relação à resposta vacinal para esse nível, as asmáticas apresentaram 81,8% de resposta, enquanto as com FC, 91,7%. Avaliando-se pelo aumento de 4 vezes o título pós em relação ao pré-vacinal, a melhor resposta aos sorotipos, nos asmáticos, foi de 33,3% (4, 6B, 14 e 18C), e a nos com FC, 61,1% para o 6B; em termos de resposta vacinal, obteve-se 16,7% e 44,4%, para as asmáticas e aquelas com FC, respectivamente. Não houve interferência da vacinação prévia com a vacina pneumocócica polissacarídica. As medianas dos títulos pós em relação aos pré-vacinais, para os sorotipos, nos dois grupos, apresentaram um aumento significante. Apesar de boa parte das crianças apresentarem uma positividade elevada à inclusão, aquelas que eram negativas tenderam a apresentar uma boa resposta à vacina. / Pneumococcal infections are an important morbi-mortality cause among children. Until 2000, it was only available the 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine for children over two years old. This vaccine was recommended for cystic fibrosis (CF) children and to asthmatics children in use of oral corticosteroids, among other recommendations. From 2000, it was licensed the 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine, with a great impact against the infections caused by the vaccine serotypes. In the countries that dont make a universally use of this vaccine for children, the recommendations remain the same. At the present time, asthmatic adults are included for the pneumococcal vaccine recommendations in the United States. There are few studies about pneumococcal disease risk with cystic fibrosis children and asthmatics, per si, and about the conjugated pneumococcal vaccine response. It points out that there are no a definitive criteria or evaluation established for the serology response for this vaccine. It was suggested, recently, that the level of 0,35mcg/ml, measured by ELISA, is adequate to correlate with the invasive pneumococcal disease protection. The goal of this study was to determine the antibodies concentration of the seven vaccine serotypes from 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine among children with moderate asthma in use of inhaled corticosteroids and with cystic fibrosis. It was considered the dosage 0,35mcg/ml and 1,3mcg/ml levels and the four-fold increase between pre- and post-immunization concentrations levels, to each serotype and to the vaccine (positivity for five serotypes or more) for positivity. Eighteen children were included in each study group. The age median was 82,5 months for the asthmatics and 69,5 months for the CF children. A blood sample was taken for pre-immunization serology and a second one after the second vaccine dose was given. The antibodies concentrations for the vaccine serotypes were measured by ELISA. Considering the 0,35mcg/ml levels, the majority of children, in both groups, was positive for vaccine serotypes and for the vaccine as well in the beginning. At the 1,3mcg/ml level, among the children with negative serology, asthmatic children responded between 66,7% (9V) and 100% (14), and those with CF, between 50% (19F) and 100% (6B e 14). Related to the vaccine response for this level, the asthmatics had a 81,8% response, while the CF childrens response was 91,7%. Evaluating for the four-fold increase between pre- and post-immunization concentrations, the best response observed for the vaccine serotypes was 33,3% (4, 6B, 14 e 18C) for the asthmatics. In the CF group the best result was 61,1% (6B). In terms of the vaccine response, it was observed that 16,7% and 44,4% were the results for both the asthmatics and CF group, respectively. The polysaccharide vaccine didnt interfere in the results. The medians of the pre- and post-immunization antibodies concentrations for the vaccine serotypes, in both groups, were significantly increased. Despite those children that were already positive for the criteria evaluated, at the first moment of the study, for those children that were negative, the majority had a positive serology towards the vaccination response.