INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASES IN CHILDREN AGED 1-59 MONTHS IN SICILY, ITALY: IMPORTANCE OF ACTIVE FAMILY PAEDIATRICIAN SURVEILLANCE AND VACCINATION COVERAGE.

Purpose: Aim of this study was to analyze pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease rates several years after the implementation of infant pneumococcal vaccination.Methods: The study was carried out in Sicily and involved about 30,000 children, aged 159 months, actively monitored by 100 family pediatricians during 2010 and 2011. All children who met the inclusion criteria were considered eligible, recorded using a standardized case report form and investigated for the presence of S. pneumoniae in specimens from sterile sites.Results: None of the 40 eligible children was confirmed as a case of invasive pneumococcal disease. The incidence rate of invasive pneumococcal disease cases was 0.0/100,000 in both years. Regional childhood pneumococcal vaccination coverage rates were 90.7% in 2010 and 92.0% in 2011.Conclusions: Our results show that during the study period invasive pneumococcal disease cases were rare in Sicilian children, suggesting a very effective control of the disease in a region with very high vaccination coverage against S. pneumoniae.