Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID)
Volume 59 Issue 6 September 15, 2014
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

Effectiveness of 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Against Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in HIV-Infected and -Uninfected Children in South Africa: A Matched Case-Control Study
Cheryl Cohen, Claire von Mollendorf, Linda de Gouveia, Nireshni Naidoo, Susan Meiring, Vanessa Quan, Vusi Nokeri, Melony Fortuin-de Smit, Babatyi Malope-Kgokong, David Moore,
Gary Reubenson, Mamokgethi Moshe, Shabir A. Madhi, Brian Eley, Ute Hallbauer, Ranmini Kularatne, Laura Conklin, Katherine L. O’Brien, Elizabeth R. Zell, Keith Klugman, Cynthia G. Whitney, and Anne von Gottberg for the South African Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Case-Control Study Group
Clin Infect Dis. (2014) 59 (6): 808-818 doi:10.1093/cid/ciu431
Abstract
A 2 + 1 seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedule is effective against vaccine-serotype invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in HIV-uninfected children and HIV-exposed but -uninfected children and against all-serotype multidrug-resistant IPD in HIV-uninfected children.

Editorial Commentary: Failing Our Patients by Suboptimally Treating Influenza Infections
Michael G. Ison1,2
Author Affiliations
1Division of Infectious Diseases
2Division of Organ Transplantation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
(See the Major Article by Havers et al on pages 774–82.)

Influenza is an important cause of morbidity and mortality related to annual epidemics and intermittent pandemics of respiratory viral infections. Whereas most of the 25 million annual cases of influenza result in self-limited infections, influenza is responsible for an excess 31.4 million outpatient visits, 226 000 excess hospitalizations, and up to 48 614 excess deaths annually in the United States [1–5]. Risk factors for serious illness and death include age Antiviral therapy with one of the neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir or zanamivir) is recommended for the treatment of patients who develop influenza infections [7, 8]. Prospective studies in ambulatory adults and children have demonstrated that the neuraminidase inhibitors are associated with shorter time to alleviation of illness and with reductions in severity of illness, duration of fever, time to return to normal activity, and quantity of shed virus [9]. Data also suggest that antiviral therapy is associated with reduction in the frequency of complications leading to antibiotic use, particularly bronchitis, compared with placebo in previously healthy adults [10–12]. In ambulatory adults and children, antiviral therapy is generally effective only if started within the first 48–72 hours after symptom onset [9, 13, 14]. Moreover, earlier initiation of oral oseltamivir therapy is associated with increased therapeutic effects [13].
Data also suggest that antiviral therapy may be associated with fewer hospitalizations, particularly in high-risk patient …