South African Press Association - December 12, 2008

The new vaccines would significantly reduce the burden of the illnesses and strengthen the department's expanded programme of immunisation, according to a copy of his speech, which he delivered at the launch of the initiative at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital.

They would also drastically reduce HIV-related deaths among infants.

Hlongwa said diseases caused by streptococcus pneumoniae were a major public health problem worldwide, and included invasive pneumo diseases such as pneumonia, empyema, meningitis, bacteraemia and non-invasive conditions like middle ear infection, sinusitis and bronchitis.

"Of the invasive diseases, pneumonia is the most common and carries a high mortality rate, especially among infants," he said.

It was responsible for two millions deaths globally, mainly of children under two and the elderly.

"The large majority of those deaths are from poor and developing countries," said Hlongwa.

Incidence rates in Africa ranged from 300 to 779 per 100 000 for children under five.

"In South Africa, studies that were conducted in Soweto reflect an incidence rate of 349 per 100 000 children below the age of one. It is also reported that incidence is much higher in HIV-infected children."

Hlongwa said the high incidence in HIV-infected people and resistance to antibiotics led to an increase in mortality among those infected with HIV.

He said studies had proven that vaccine use resulted in a significant reduction in invasive pneumo-disease resistant strains. In South Africa these showed a decline of 67 percent in penicillin resistance and 56 percent in bactrim resistance.

Rotavirus was the most common diarrhoeal pathogen in children worldwide with 125 million cases of gastroenteritis reported globally and 440 000 deaths a year, mainly in poor or less developed countries.

"In South Africa, for example, diarrhoea causes 10 786 deaths a year. A third to half of diarrhoeal deaths (3 600 to 5 383) are due to rotavirus," said Hlongwana.

At the Dr George Mukhari hospital, in Ga-Rankuwa, rotavirus was responsible for 18 000 out-patient paediatric visits a year.

"This condition causes rapidly progressive dehydration within 24 to 48 hours. Many of those afflicted by it do not even make it to hospital.

"This inevitably has huge implications on hospital workload and cost of hospital care."

Hlongwa said studies in the United States found that rotavirus vaccines had resulted in a huge disease reduction within a year.

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