Study highlights impact of childhood vaccines on antibiotic use

A new study suggests that among the strategies to combat global antibiotic resistance, childhood vaccines may provide the most bang for the buck. The study, published yesterday in Nature, found that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and rotavirus vaccines prevent more than 37 million childhood illnesses that would otherwise be treated with antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and that scaling up vaccination programs in these countries would more than double that number. The authors of the study say that while it’s been widely thought that vaccines could reduce the burden of antibiotic resistance by reducing the infections that drive antibiotic use, especially in low-income settings, this study provides clear evidence of a significant impact. “The magnitude of the effect that can be achieved with this intervention is just staggering when it’s put together and considered in a global context,” said Joseph Lewnard, PhD, lead study author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley.