Heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: current and future impact

Diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae contribute significantly to worldwide morbidity and mortality. S. pneumoniae is now the number one cause of invasive bacterial disease in children in countries where Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease has been conquered by use of the Hib conjugate vaccine. Licensure of a heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children less than 5 years old in the USA represents the culmination of more than five decades of pneumococcal vaccine development. This review will: highlight safety, immunogenicity and efficacy studies that led to US Food and Drug Administration approval of this PCV7; summarize data about the incidence of childhood pneumococcal disease in the USA subsequent to licensure; review PCV7 treatment guidelines currently in place in the USA, Canada and Australia; and consider future directions in pneumococcal vaccine research.