Pneumococcal disease

SKAI Pneumoococcal prevalence chart

What are the side effects of the 13PCV vaccine?

Very common side effects 

  • About 70 per cent of children who get the 13PCV vaccine are irritable (cranky or unsettled) for a day or two afterwards.
  • About 60 per cent are drowsy or sleep more for a day or two afterwards.
  • About 50 per cent of children who get the 13PCV vaccine get a sore, red spot at the injection site.  
  • About 39 per cent don't eat as well in the days after getting the vaccine.
  • About 37 per cent get a fever and about 5 per cent get a fever higher than 39 degrees in the day or two afterwards.
  • About 33 per cent will get a hard, red lump at the injection site that lasts a few days or weeks.

 

What are the symptoms of pneumococcal disease?   

Usual symptoms

  • Pneumococcal disease is caused by pneumococcus bacteria (germs) and it can affect a number of different parts of the body. 
  • About 28 to 55 per cent of acute otitis media (middle-ear infection or ear-ache) is caused by pneumococcus.

Less common symptoms

  • Pneumococcus can cause meningitis (brain infection) and pneumonia (lung infection). 
  • About 33 to 50 per cent of the people who are treated for pneumonia in hospital have pneumococcus.

Rare symptoms

  • About 3 per cent of people who get pneumococcal-meningitis die.

 

REFERENCES / How vaccination has impacted the prevalence of pneumococcal disease

Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H, et al. Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007, Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 34 Supplement December 2010: S1-167.

Updated with data from NNDSS Annual Report Writing Group. Australia’s Notifiable Disease Status, 2010: Annual Report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 36 March 2012: 36:1-69.