Understanding the link between pneumococcal serotypes and invasive disease.

To determine the relationship between serotypes and the burden of pneumococcal disease in Latin American children, population- and laboratory-based surveillance data for the region were evaluated. Streptococcus pneumoniae continues to be an important bacterial pathogen causing infections in children. A seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) has been documented to be extremely effective in the prevention of invasive and non-invasive S. pneumoniae infections due to vaccine serotypes. However, due to evolving epidemiology, there is a need to enhance S. pneumoniae serotype coverage in future generation vaccines, complemented by ongoing surveillance of pneumococcal serotypes following vaccine introduction.