Meeting: 5th Regional Pneumococcal Symposium
Sabin Vaccine Institute, PAHO, JHU -IVAC), CDC
5-6 March 2013: Sao Paulo
This meeting convened “…health representatives from the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region to discuss and exchange ideas that may lead to the overcoming of financial, logistical, and political obstacles to pneumococcal prevention.” Research introduced at the meeting indicated that in the Latin American and Caribbean context the cost of illness is an important and significant economic burden, suggesting that more use of pneumococcal vaccines could be cost-effective in adults.
Dr. Fernando de la Hoz , a member of the Medical Faculty at the National University of Colombia and lead author of the study, said, “Further research is needed in order for health officials to fully grasp the potential impact of immunizing older populations in Latin America and the Caribbean. We know now that the vaccine is saving the lives of thousands of our region’s youngest citizens. The question is whether we should also be protecting their parents and grandparents.”
The study found that direct medical costs to treat bacteremic pneumonia ranged from USD $993 to USD $3,535 per person, and the cost of treatment for bacteremic meningitis was as high as USD $4,490 for elderly persons. The cost analysis concluded that these diseases pose sizable burdens in five countries studied: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 