Parapneumonic pleural effusions caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 in children immunized with 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine.

During 2012, Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 was identified by polymerase chain reaction in 15 out of 20 (75%) pleural fluid specimens from children with pneumococcal pneumonia complicated by parapneumonic pleural effusion in Greece. One-third of these children had been immunized with the 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine after the age of 12 months, according to the national immunization schedule.