During the 1990s, an epidemic of B:4 Neisseria meningitidis infections affected Brazil. Subsequent increase in C:4 disease suggested B → C capsular switching. This study identified B → C switches within the sequence type 32 complex. Substantial disease related to capsular switching emphasizes the need for surveillance of circulating meningococcal strains to optimize disease control.

BACKGROUND AND CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of septic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in a patient who had undergone splenectomy due to an autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), which is characterized as a dysfunction of immunoregulation. Although the patient was vaccinated with a conjugated polysaccharide vaccine after the splenectomy, he was still susceptible ...

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in adults are associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and costs. A literature review was conducted to identify strengths and limitations of the cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine studies. A comparative analysis of the impact of model parameters on cost-effectiveness ratios was complemented by systematic assessment of the studi...

Passive hemagglutination (HA), a bactericidal activity test (BCA), and radioimmunoassay (RIA) were compared in measuring serum antibodies before and after group A meningococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccination of servicemen. The three methods were found satisfactory in demonstrating a response to vaccination in this age group. Of the postimmunization sera, 5% remained without HA and 1% remai...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the benefit and costs of vaccination of university students against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Canada. METHODS Published studies were reviewed and a simulation model was used. RESULTS IMD risk seems to be of low magnitude, but consequences can be dramatic. Over a 10-year period, IMD risk reduction would be slightly greater using a monovalent C conjugate va...

Adult volunteers were injected with a combined meningococcal group A and group C polysaccharide vaccine. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibody levels against both polysaccharides were measured in serum samples taken 14 days as well as 3 years after vaccination. For both group A and group C polysaccharides, the IgM and IgG antibody levels at 14 days postvaccination were positively related. The...

In modern-day vaccine design, a good pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine is measured by its ability to induce opsonic antibodies. These antibodies label bacteria for phagocytosis by neutrophils and thereby overcome the capsule's barrier function. Doyle and Pirofski have raised a serious challenge to the current paradigm by describing anti-capsular antibodies that are highly protective ...

LB-7. Immunogenicity and Safety of a 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Coadministered with a Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in Adults 50 Years and Older Previously Vaccinated With 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Roger Baxter, MD, FIDSA; H. Jackson Downey, MD; Scott D. Patterson, PhD; Vani Sundaraiyer, PhD; Wendy Watson, MD; Keri Clarke, MD; William C. Gruber, MD, FIDSA; Dan...

Invasive meningococcal disease is a recognized public health problem worldwide, with a dynamic and changeable epidemiology. In Turkey, the second most common pathogenic meningococcal serogroup (after serogroup B) is W-135, including an epidemic in 2005, which has been strongly associated with Hajj pilgrims and their close contacts. In two studies conducted in 2010, we assessed meningococcal car...

Endemic and epidemic group A meningococcal meningitis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, despite the availability of the safe and inexpensive group A meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine, which is protective at all ages when administered as directed. Despite optimal therapy, meningococcal meningitis has a 10% fatality rate and at least 15% central nervous sy...