Serious pneumococcal disease outbreak in men exposed to metal fume – detection, response and future prevention through pneumococcal vaccination
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Lynsey Patterson; Lorraine Doherty; Georgia Kapatai; Joe Kidney; Lucy Jessop; N Irvine; Norman K. Fry; Carmen L. Sheppard; Judith Ewing; Mary Ramsay; Anne Loughrey
- Source
- Vaccine. 35:3945-3950
- Subject
- Adult
Male
0301 basic medicine
Serotype
medicine.medical_specialty
Genotype
Serogroup
Disease Outbreaks
Pneumococcal Vaccines
Young Adult
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Internal medicine
medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
General Veterinary
General Immunology and Microbiology
Transmission (medicine)
business.industry
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Outbreak
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Middle Aged
Pneumonia, Pneumococcal
medicine.disease
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine
United Kingdom
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Occupational Diseases
Vaccination
Pneumococcal infections
Streptococcus pneumoniae
030104 developmental biology
Infectious Diseases
Carriage
Metals
Pneumococcal pneumonia
Immunology
Molecular Medicine
business
- Language
- ISSN
- 0264-410X
Welders and those exposed to metal fume are known to be at increased risk of pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease. Current UK guidance recommends that vaccination against pneumococcus be considered in those at risk of frequent or continuous occupational exposure to metal fume, taking into account the exposure control measures in place. We report an outbreak of serious pneumococcal disease that occurred between April and June 2015 among a multinational workforce exposed to metal fumes while working on the refurbishment of an oil rig in a Belfast shipyard. Four confirmed and five probable cases were identified, which occurred despite the use of environmental control measures and the availability of respiratory protective equipment. To provide direct protection to those at risk of pneumococcal disease and to eradicate carriage of pneumococcus and interrupt transmission, pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) and antibiotic prophylaxis were offered to 680 individuals identified as potentially exposed to metal fume. Low levels of prior pneumococcal vaccination were reported among this target group (