PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE VACCINE - SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
News:
Only 61% of Tamil Nadu’s PCV requirement supplied during 2022
What's in the news?
● As
against the annual requirement of 30 lakh doses of Pneumococcal Conjugate
Vaccines (PCVs), Tamil Nadu received only a little over half of its requirement
- 18 lakh doses during 2022, up to January 6, 2023.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine:
● It
is used to protect infants, young children and adults against disease caused by
the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae
(pneumococcus).
● Conjugate:
It is a type of vaccine that joins a
protein to an antigen in order to improve the protection that vaccine provides.
● It
contains purified capsular polysaccharide of pneumococcal serotypes conjugated
to a carrier protein to improve antibody response.
● The
unique feature of the PCV is its composition which is specially tailored to the
prevailing serotype prevalence of S Pneumoniae in India and other regions of
the world.
● There
are three pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV13, PCV15, and PCV20). The
different vaccines are recommended for different people based on their age and
medical status.
Go back to basics:
Pneumococcal disease:
● Pneumococcal
disease refers to any illness caused by
pneumococcal bacteria.
● These
bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia, which is an
infection of the lungs.
● Pneumococcal
bacteria are one of the most common causes of pneumonia.
● Besides
pneumonia, pneumococcal bacteria can also cause:
○ Ear
infections
○ Sinus
infections
○ Meningitis
(infection of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord)
○ Bacteremia
(infection of the blood).
Who are all at risk?
● Anyone
can get pneumococcal disease, but children under 2 years old, people with
certain medical conditions or other risk factors, and adults 65 years or older
are at the highest risk.
● Most
pneumococcal infections are mild. However, some can result in long-term
problems, such as brain damage or hearing loss. Meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia caused by pneumococcal disease
can be fatal.
Universal Immunization Programme:
● Universal
Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest public health programmes
targeting close to 26.7 million newborns and 29 million pregnant women
annually.
● Under
UIP, immunization is being provided free of cost against 12 vaccine preventable diseases:
● Nationally
against 10 diseases - Diphtheria,
Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of Childhood
Tuberculosis, Rotavirus diarrhea, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia
caused by Haemophilus Influenzae type B.
● Sub-nationally
against 2 diseases - Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese
Encephalitis; of which Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine is nationally expanded
today, while JE vaccine is provided only in endemic districts.