On Ear Infections in Children and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV7)

Filed in archive Cases , Studies , Treatment on April 12, 2007

My time in grade school (the early 80's) was I think the worst time for children to have ear infections. Not that most of us had ear infections, (I didn't have though, thankfully!) but there were quite a number of children who had it, not only in my own class but in other grade levels as well. I said it was a terrible time because not only were these children teased about their condition, but because the stuff that came out of their ears smelled really terrible and so most children would just stay away from them like they're lepers or something.

Vaccines, in those days here in my home country, were really scarce - probably the reason why ear infections are so rampant in most public schools. There was even a time when I thought that ear infections (as I know them now) are part of growing up - a 'curse' for being a kid at one time in your life. I can't even remember those kids being treated for ear infections, well I guess they just have their ears cleaned out until the puss dried up and hope that they never come back, otherwise suffer the consequences- both medical and social.

Anyway, kids these days are luckier in the sense that vaccines for most preventable conditions (especially for most infections) are now readily available. Even our poor government now offers free/subsidized vaccination to babies and toddlers.

A new research led by Katherine A. Poehling, M.D. (a pediatrician at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center) found that a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) helped reduce the number of infants and toddlers developing frequent ear infections.

Licensed by the USFDA in 2000, the PCV7 vaccine has been recommended by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on immunization Practices as part of the routine vaccination schedule in that same year: at age two months, four months, six months and again at about 12 to 15 months (total of four doses in children).

According to Dr. Poehling:

"This vaccine has benefited both children and adults since being introduced into the vaccination schedule. We have seen declines in the incidence of serious infections such as pneumococcal meningitis in both children and adults, as well as the number of children developing frequent ear infections."

The PCV7 vaccine only protects against seven virulent strains of pneumococcal bacteria from 90 known strains, thus careful monitoring is still needed because pnuemococcal strains not included in the vaccine may increase and may reduce the vaccine's benefits.

Results of the said study are published in the April issue of Pediatrics.

Find more details from the full report.