The impact of 10-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on serotype 19A invasive pneumococcal disease

The circulation in the community of pneumococcal serotype 19A, a highly invasive and frequently extremely resistant pneumococcal strain, has increased the focus on methods to control its presence and effect. Two vaccines have been developed: the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) and the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Available data indicate that PCV13 is highly effective in reducing the risk of serotype 19A invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in both vaccinated children and unvaccinated adults. Positive data have also been published for PCV10 that suggest that the conjugated serotype 19F included in the vaccine could evoke a cross-reactive antibody response with serotype 19A. However, a great number of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases are associated with serotypes not included in either of the vaccines, and preparation of a vaccine containing all the serotypes is unrealistic. Protein vaccines are the real future to definitively reduce the pneumococcal disease burden.