Changes in Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes causing invasive disease with non-universal vaccination coverage of the seven-valent conjugate vaccine

The pneumococcal seven-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV7) has been administered in Portugal since late 2001 through the private sector. To evaluate the impact of PCV7 use, the serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility of pneumococci causing invasive disease in Portugal during 2003–2005 were determined and compared with available data for the period 1999–2002. Changes in serotype distribution compatible with the introduction of PCV7 were shown for children ≤5 years of age from 2003 onwards and for adults from 2004 onwards. PCV7 use with coverage of 43% of children with four doses in the 2004 birth cohort, although substantially below universal coverage, seems to have contributed to greatly reducing the proportion of invasive infections due to vaccine serotypes 4,6B, 14 and 23F. Similarly, significant indirect effects on the serotype distribution of pneumococci causing infections in adults were noted, with reductions in the proportion of invasive infections caused by serotypes 4, 5 and 14. These changes were accompanied by an increase in the proportion of two non-vaccine serotypes: 19A isolates in all age groups and 7F isolates in adults. Whereas serotypes 6B, 14 and 19A were associated with multidrug resistance, isolates expressing serotypes 4 and 7F were fully susceptible for the most part. There were no changes in the proportion of resistant isolates within each serotype and, in spite of the changes in serotype prevalence, there was not an overall reduction in the proportion of infections caused by resistant pneumococci.