Evaluation of the impact of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on childhood pneumonia in Botswana

Background: Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of childhood mortality worldwide, and more than half of child pneumonia-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common bacterial cause of childhood pneumonia. Few data exist regarding the effect of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) on pneumonia risk among African children. PCV-13 was introduced into Botswana's Expanded Programme of …