The rate of life-threating pneumococcal disease in Australia has a hit a 20-year high, prompting calls for the urgent rollout of new generation vaccines.
Paediatrician and Infectious Disease Researcher Professor Peter Richmond said more than 4500 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease had been recorded in the last 24 months, the highest rate of diagnoses since 2002.
Professor Richmond said invasive pneumococcal disease could attack the lungs, causing pneumonia or empyema; the brain, causing meningitis; or enter the bloodstream, causing septicaemia.
He said with a sustained surge in invasive pneumococcal disease, with more than six cases per day on average since the start of 2023, next year may see further increases in cases.
“Invasive pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of death and serious illness among children.
“The infection can prove deadly within a matter of hours or days, with pneumococcal meningitis claiming the lives of one-in-12 children with the disease.”
Professor Richmond said while only cases of invasive pneumococcal disease were recorded in Australia, the broader impact of pneumococcal was significant, with non-invasive infections leading to complications such as permanent hearing loss in children.
“Invasive pneumococcal disease is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of pneumococcal infections in Australia.
“For every confirmed case of invasive pneumococcal disease, there are hundreds of non-invasive infections such as bronchitis, sinusitis and middle ear infections that we don’t record and which leave children and the elderly suffering,” he said.
Professor Richmond said experts believed three factors were driving the increase in invasive pneumococcal disease:
- Evolving pneumococcal strains: With more than 100 strains of streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium adapts over time.
- Declining vaccination rates: Childhood vaccination rates fell from 93.3 percent in 2022 to 92.8 percent in 2023 in 12-month-old infants. Only 20 percent of people aged between 71-79 years are vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.
- Antibiotic resistance: In more than 40 percent of cases, the pneumococcal bacteria that causes invasive disease were resistant to at least one class of antibiotics.
“We’re seeing a drop in vaccine coverage alongside emerging strains of the bacterium, and antibiotic resistance.
“It’s important to recognise that effective pneumococcal vaccination helps prevent antibiotic resistant infections,” he said.
Immunisation Foundation of Australia Director Catherine Hughes said the Federal Government needed to prioritise the rollout of newer, broader-coverage pneumococcal vaccines that had been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and recommended by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
“Newer pneumococcal immunisations protect against more strains than the vaccines currently available, but a funding decision is mired in bureaucratic red tape,” Ms Hughes said.
“New generation vaccines need to be rolled out through the National Immunisation Program without further delay. We simply can’t risk not having the best available pneumococcal protection.”
