The childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be contributing to fewer infections from antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” according to new research.
First used in children in 2010, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was linked to a 62% reduction between 2009 and 2013 of drug-resistant infections of bacterial pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections for children under 5.
“The vaccine is an important tool against antibiotic resistance,” lead researcher Sara Tomczyk, an epidemic intelligence service officer in the Respiratory Diseases Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told HealthDay.
According to Tomczyk, more than 4,400 cases of antibiotic-resistant, invasive pneumococcal disease were prevented between 2010 to 2013.
