From the past Wednesday until today, the XV International Conference on Vaccines Update is being held at the Hospital October 12, Madrid, an act that has become a reference for pediatricians, epidemiologists and vaccinologists worldwide.
Today the issue of epidemiology and prevention against pneumococcus will be discussed, pneumococcal disease mostly affects children and the elderly, who can develop meningitis, bacterial pneumonia or sepsis (blood infection). In the year 2000 the pneumococcal vaccine was introduced in the US vaccination calendar for children, and according to Professor Jesús Ruiz Contreras, head of Pediatrics on October 12, it has been proven that two years after applying the vaccine universally to children under 2 years old, more than 10,000 cases of disease had been avoided in the immunized child population, in addition to preventing 20,000 people who had not been vaccinated. Pediatricians of the Hospitals of the Basque Country and Navarra also show data of their work that are encouraging, the vaccine applied to children under two years reduces by 80% the risks of meningitis in children under 1 year and 69.2% any pneumococcal disease
In the Community of Madrid the pneumococcal vaccine was included in the official vaccine calendar last November in order to immunize all children under 2 years. We hope that the political issues that were mentioned in past months will refer and worry in all communities to protect the child population, vaccines are for that,
