REPORT RECOMMENDS USE OF PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE IN LATIN AMERICA

Two children die every hour from easily preventable pneumococcal diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean, and there are more than 1.6 million cases of the illnesses that include pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis as well as severe ear infections, sinusitis and bronchitis, according to a United Nations-backed report.

Yet a vaccine already routinely given to children in the United States could halve the death toll and cut the nearly $300 million in costs annually, the study said.

Reviewing the potential impact of the existing vaccine, the report found that widespread vaccination of children in Latin America would prevent over half of all pneumococcal illnesses and deaths regionally, saving one life for every thousand children vaccinated and avert one case of illness for every 80 children vaccinated.

Extended vaccines that are expected to become available in two to three years will raise the level of protection even further.

The pneumococcal seven-valent conjugate vaccine approved in the U.S. is marketed by Prevnar, a division of Wyeth.