What to know
- Presentation Day/Time: Friday, April 25, 9:00–10:25 am
- Presenter: Camden Gowler, PhD, EIS officer assigned to the North Carolina Division of Public Health, Communicable Disease Branch
What did we do?
- On June 26, 2024, North Carolina Division of Public Health learned of multiple pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases at a North Carolina correctional facility. We investigated to characterize cases and determine intervention strategies.
What did we find?
- Fourteen cases (eight suspected, one probable, and five confirmed) were identified among 267 incarcerated people.
- Suspected cases had mild respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough).
- All confirmed and probable cases were hospitalized and survived.
- The median age of cases was 51 years; none had a documented pneumococcal vaccination history.
- By July 2, 2024, several staff and 157 incarcerated people received 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23).
- Isolates from laboratory-confirmed cases were serotype 4; average core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) difference was 10, indicating closely related isolates.
- No additional cases were reported after vaccination.
Why does it matter?
- Timely administration of PPSV23 may have prevented additional serotype 4 IPD cases.
- Serotype 4 is contained in vaccines PCV15, PCV20, and PPSV23 but not in the recently recommended vaccine PCV21.
- Officials should consider rapid serotyping of pneumococcal cases and vaccine selection in managing pneumococcal outbreaks within specific environments, including correctional facilities.
***This presentation has new information that will be shared at the EIS Conference.
Abstract Category: Vaccines