6 countries announce the inclusion of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

This announcement makes it 24 countries across the world that have now included Prevenar in their immunizations schedules.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal disease is now ranked as the number one cause of vaccine-preventable death among children under 5, causing deaths in over 1 million children per year worldwide. Children are both major carriers and victims. In addition, adults of 50 and above are at higher risk.

'We share these countries' commitment to protecting children from the potentially devastating effects of pneumococcal disease and applaud the swift action they have taken in addressing this urgent and pressing health issue,'

says Bernard Fritzell, Vice President, International Scientific & Clinical Affairs, Wyeth Vaccines Research, in Paris, France.

'Wyeth is dedicated to the wellbeing of children and to working with other governments and agencies to further expand the access to Prevenar. This includes accelerating the introduction of the vaccine in those countries that have announced their decision to incorporate Prevenar in their National Immunisation Programmes but have yet to introduce the vaccine as part of their immunization schedule.'

This is important news as pneumococcal disease results in 1.6 million deaths per year worldwide, of which up to 1 million deaths are in children younger than five years of age. Pneumococcal disease is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than five years of age worldwide.

'Specifically, since the introduction of PCV7, into Germany's pediatric immunization schedule in 2006, there has been a 50 percent reduction in vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children younger than 2 years old compared with a pre-vaccine baseline. In addition, a slight reduction in vaccine-type IPD among children aged 2-5 years old, an unvaccinated group, also was documented, suggesting a potential 'indirect' effect among older children who were not immunized. Recent data from Germany, France and the UK highlight the impact of the vaccine in countries where it is part of the national immunization schedule,' says Dr Mark van der Linden, Head of the National Reference Center for Streptococci at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, RWTH-Aachen, Germany.

'Consistent with recommendations by the World Health Organization, I urge all countries to consider the benefits of routine vaccination with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.'

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends priority inclusion of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in national childhood immunization programs worldwide due to the significant burden of pneumococcal disease and demonstrated vaccine efficacy.

Recently, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) to WHO issued a preliminary recommendation that pneumococcal disease prevention be ranked as a very high priority on a global basis.

PREVENAR, the only licensed pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, is now available in 88 countries around the world, with more than 180 million doses distributed.