Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Epidemiology and Serotype Replacement After the Introduction of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Ontario, Canada, 2007-2022

Ramandip Grewal; Kelty Hillier; Shelley L Deeks; Allison H Yeung; Sarah E Wilson; Shinthuja Wijayasri; Tara M Harris; Sarah A Buchan

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae275

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Epidemiology and Serotype Replacement After the Introduction of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Ontario, Canada, 2007-2022

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 May 15;11(6):ofae275. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae275. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Ramandip Grewal^{1

2

3}, Kelty Hillier¹, Shelley L Deeks⁴, Allison H Yeung⁵, Sarah E Wilson^{1

2

3}, Shinthuja Wijayasri⁵, Tara M Harris¹, Sarah A Buchan^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Health Protection, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Health and Wellness, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁵ Centre for Immunization Surveillance, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Background: New vaccine products were recently authorized for protection against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Canada. Our aim was to determine age- and serotype-specific trends in IPD incidence and severity in Canada's largest province, Ontario.

Methods: We included all confirmed IPD cases reported in Ontario and defined the pre-pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13) era (01/2007 to 12/2010), post-PCV13 era (01/2011 to 12/2019), and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic era (01/2020 to 12/2022). We estimated incidence, hospitalization, and case fatality rate (CFR) by age. We grouped IPD cases by vaccine-specific serotypes (PCV13; PCV15-non-PCV13; PCV20-non-PCV13; PCV20-non-PCV15; polysaccharide 23-valent vaccine-non-PCV20; and non-vaccine-preventable [NVP]). We then compared incidence rates by age and serotype group in the pre- and post-PCV13 eras by calculating rate ratios (RRs) and their 95% CIs.

Results: Incidence and hospitalizations declined from the pre- to post-PCV13 era in children aged <5 years (RR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.8; and RR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7-0.9, respectively), but the CFR increased (1.4% to 2.3%). Other age groups saw smaller declines or more stable incidence rates across the years; hospitalizations increased in adults aged 50-64 years (RR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4) and ≥65 years (RR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.1). For all ages, IPD cases and hospitalizations attributable to PCV13 serotypes declined, and those attributable to PCV15-non-PCV13, PCV20-non-PCV13, and NVP serotypes increased. IPD incidence declined during the COVID-19 era.

Conclusions: IPD incidence and hospitalizations due to PCV13 serotypes decreased after PCV13 introduction but increased for other serotypes. Continued surveillance is required to evaluate changes to pneumococcal vaccination programs and ongoing changes to the distribution of IPD-causing serotypes.

Keywords: Invasive pneumococcal disease; epidemiology; serotype replacement; vaccination program.