A role for Streptococcus pneumoniae in virus-associated pneumonia

Here we show, in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 37,107 fully immunized infants in Soweto, South Africa, that a 9-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PncCV, prevents 31% (95% confidence interval = 15 - 43%) of pneumonias associated with any of seven respiratory viruses in children in hospital. These data suggest that the pneumococcus has a major role in the development of pneumonia associated with these viruses and that viruses contribute to the pathogenesis of bacterial pneumonia.