Incidence of pneumococcal infections among children under 15Â years in southern Catalonia throughout the heptavalent conjugate vaccine era, 2002â[euro]"2009

Updating epidemiological studies to document current incidences of pneumococcal diseases are greatly needed in the current era of new pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). The aim of this study is to analyze the incidence and distribution of different serotypes causing pneumococcal infections among the pediatric population in southern Catalonia, Spain, throughout the 2002â[euro]"2009 PCV7 eras. A population-based surveillance study was conducted among children aged â[per thousand]¤14Â years in the region of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) during the period 2002â[euro]"2009. All cases of pneumococcal infections (invasive and non-invasive cases) were included in the study. Incidence rates (per 100,000 population-year) and prevalence of infections caused by serotypes included in different PCV formulations were calculated for the 2002â[euro]"2005 and 2006â[euro]"2009 periods. Globally, across the total 2002â[euro]"2009 period, the incidence of pneumococcal infections was 48.2 per 100,000 children-year (22.4 and 25.8 for invasive and non-invasive infections, respectively). Between 2002â[euro]"2005 and 2006â[euro]"2009, the incidence rates largely decreased among children aged