A research group led by Professor Kouya Ariyoshi, Associate Professor Konosuke Morimoto, and Assistant Professor Motoi Suzuki in the field of clinical infectious diseases at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University has found that the 2014-valent pneumococcal vaccine, which began regular vaccination for the elderly in 23, is pneumonia. It was found to be highly effective in prevention.It is estimated that the number of pneumonia patients will decrease by about 10 a year if all the elderly in Japan take it.
According to Nagasaki University, Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of pneumonia, with more than 90 serotypes. The 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine targets 23 serotypes that are particularly prone to infectious diseases, and has been used in countries around the world for more than 30 years.It was known to have a preventive effect on severe infectious diseases such as sepsis, which occurs rarely, but the preventive effect of pneumonia itself was not known accurately.
The research group collected and analyzed samples and data of pneumonia patients aged 2011 years and older from four medical facilities nationwide for four years from 4, and the 4-valent pneumococcal vaccine was used for pneumococcal pneumonia due to 65 different serum types. Was reduced by 23% and total pneumococcal pneumonia was reduced by 23%.
This study is the first in the world to elucidate the preventive effect of the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine on pneumococcal pneumonia in the elderly, and is expected to contribute significantly to vaccine policies around the world.
The research results were published in the online version of the British medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
