Originally published October 31 2005
Children's vaccines may be protecting adult population from pneumonia
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Catherine Lexau, PhD, MPH, of Minnesota's health department has led research that suggests new children's vaccines have actually reduced the number of pneumonia cases.
Adults may owe kids a "thank you" for helping them avoid pneumonia and related diseases.
Fewer adults were reported to have pneumococcal disease in recent years, a new study shows.
Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacterial organism Streptococcus pneumoniae.
It is typically associated with infection of the lung (pneumonia); it also causes other infections such as ear and sinus infections, meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain), and blood infection.
The researchers included Catherine Lexau, PhD, MPH, of Minnesota's health department.
Lexau and colleagues tracked invasive pneumococcal disease in adults before and after a pneumococcal vaccine for infants and young children was introduced in 2000.
The kids' pneumococcal vaccine is called the conjugate vaccine, or PCV-7.
Adults get a different pneumococcal vaccine, called the PPV23, which works against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.
The researchers tracked cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults age 50 and older in eight U.S. cities.
They found a 28% drop in overall reported cases of adults with invasive pneumococcal disease between the two time periods.
They also found that reported cases of disease caused by the seven types of pneumococcal bacteria covered by the children's PCV-7 vaccine decreased by 55%.
There was no change seen with the other 16 types covered by the adult PPV-23 vaccine.
The most common invasive pneumococcal diseases included invasive pneumonia, blood infection (bacteremia), and meningitis, note the researchers.
Vaccinated children may be less likely to get sick and give that illness to adults, the researchers write.
They note that the PCV-7 vaccine also helps to hinder transmission of the bacteria in the general public.
The numbers of infected adults with underlying medical conditions that make them more susceptible to infection increased during the study.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml