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Vaccine Serotype Replacement
About Vaccine Serotype Replacement
Serotype replacement is a phenomenon where vaccinating against some strains of a bacteria allows other strains to fill the ecological niche. This has been observed with pneumococcal vaccines. After PCV7 introduction, non vaccine serotypes particularly 19A increased, causing disease. PCV13 addressed this by adding 19A, but other serotypes then emerged. This pattern necessitates development of higher valency vaccines like PCV15 and PCV20. Shifts in circulating strains have also been studied after rotavirus vaccine introduction. The phenomenon illustrates the evolutionary pressure that vaccines place on pathogens. The long term solution may be vaccines targeting conserved structures common to all serotypes, similar to the universal flu vaccine concept. Serotype replacement is a consideration for any vaccine targeting only some variants of a pathogen.
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