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VACCINES are now helping to control some bacterial diseases, said Margaret C. Bash, a medical officer at FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research. They provide immunity against infectious agents that resist antimicrobial therapy and can prevent diseases that are frequently treated with antibiotics, she explained. For example, Bash said, because of immunizations that began in about 1997, haemophillus influenzae type B infections are not an issue anymore for U.S. infants and young children. Another example is invasive pneumococcal disease. In 2000, a highly effective pneumococcal vaccine began to be used for routine infant immunizations. "Subsequent follow-up has shown a rapid decline in invasive pneumococcal disease in young children, and this has led to a decline in the disease across all ages," she said. At the same time, beginning in 2000, pneumoccocal bacteria became less resistant to penicillin, probably because its use declined as pneumococcol disease became less prevalent. |
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