SYNOPSIS :Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for more child deaths than any other pathogen globally. The great majority of deaths due to pneumococcal disease occur in Africa and Asia. S. pneumoniae remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia. Grant Mackenzie will describe the surveillance studies in South Africa, Kenya and The Gambia, summarising recent findings on the impact of pneumococcal vaccination programmes. Catherine Satzke will describe the vaccine impact studies being conducted in Fiji, Laos and Mongolia by the MCRI Pneumococcal Research group. These studies include characterising the pneumococci isolated from healthy children, and in children with pneumonia, using sophisticated methods established in their laboratory with support from the Gates Foundation and MCRI.
Conjugate vaccines targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae were introduced into the Australian National Immunisation Program for infants in 2005. Nigel Crawford will focus on the changes to the vaccine recommendations in Australia over the past decade and current local rates of IPD. It will also detail how RCH clinicians can optimise protection for ‘special risk’ children and adolescents i.e. those at highest risk of IPD.
SPEAKERS :
Dr Grant Mackenzie:Epidemiologist/paediatrician with a particular interest in pneumococcal disease, conjugate bacterial vaccines, pneumonia, and severe bacterial infections. Grant is a Clinical Epidemiologist at the Basse Field Station of MRC (UK) The Gambia, since 2008 and co-ordinates surveillance for pneumococcal disease in eastern Gambia, evaluating the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. He is also involved in studies evaluating different pneumococcal vaccine schedules, documenting short and long-term outcomes after childhood pneumonia, socio-economic risk factors for pneumonia, evaluating IMCI criteria for pneumonia, and describing the causes of serious bacterial illness.
Dr Catherine Satzke:Research Fellow with the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and an Honorary Fellow with The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She is a member of the Pneumococcal Research Group, and is co-Principal investigator for a project with the Gates Foundation to evaluate and establish pneumococcal typing methods for vaccine impact studies.
Dr Nigel Crawford:Consultant paediatrician and Medical Head of Immunisation Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Deputy Director of SAEFVIC (an immunisation vaccine safety and research group) based at the MCRI and an Honorary Senior Fellow with the Department of Paediatrics. Nigel has a keen interest in optimising immunisation in Special Risk Groups, as well as surveillance and clinical evaluation of adverse events following immunisation. Nigel is also involved in a number of national and international clinical immunisation research networks, as well supporting vaccine education initiatives, such as helping to establish the twice-yearly Clinical Vaccinology Update in 2012 and the Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre (http://www.mvec.vic.edu.au/) in 2014.