Epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease in Saudi Arabian children younger than 5 years of age

This study evaluated the incidence, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Saudi Arabian children. This multicenter, prospective, clinical surveillance study included children under 5 years of age, residents of one of the seven study health areas, who were brought to a study hospital with suspicion of IPD. Bacterial isolates from sterile site samples, collected less than 24 h after hospital visit/admission, were identified, serotyped, and tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Between June 2007 and January 2009, 631 episodes of suspected IPD were recorded, and 623 were included in the analysis. One child (0.2%) had previously received one dose of a pneumococcal vaccine. Forty-seven episodes were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae and three for Haemophilus influenzae. The incidence of confirmed IPD cases was estimated to be 2.5–21.6 per 100,000 children (<5 years). Among the 46 S. pneumoniae isolates serotyped and tested for antibiotic susceptibility, the most common serotypes were 5 and 23F (20% each), 6B (17%), and 1 and 14 (11% each). Sixty-three percent of isolates were multidrug-resistant. Vaccination of Saudi Arabian children with expanded-coverage conjugate pneumococcal vaccines containing serotypes 1 and 5 could have a substantial impact to prevent IPD in this population.