Economic burden of pneumococcal infections in children under 5 years of age

Ceyhan, Mehmet; Ozsurekci, Yasemin; Aykac, Kubra; Hacibedel, Basak; Ozbilgili, Egemen

According to the global epidemiological data, more than 90% of pneumonia-related deaths in children under the age of 5 years occur in 40 countries, with the highest mortality rates in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. 7 When intercontinental distribution of pneumonia-related death is evaluated in this age group, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia show similar distribution. 8 In Turkey, although detailed data about respiratory tract infections are limited, the Turkey Burden of Disease Study conducted between 2002 and 2004 by the Ministry of Health reported that the ratio of disability adjusted life years (DALY) caused by respiratory tract infections were 13.4% in 0-4 year age group and 6.5% in 5-14 year age group. 9 Additionally, the estimated annual number of cases was 250 for meningitis, 250,000 for pneumonia, and 2.5 million for AOM in Turkey, 10 although data on the contribution of S. pneumonia to overall pediatric respiratory tract infections is not fully known due to lack of surveillance data. The present study aimed to determine the cost of childhood pneumococcal infections, which are major public health problems in Turkey as well as globally, under the age of 5 years and to supply a source for further researches on this issue.