REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1589366
Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in The Gulf Region: A Narrative Review of Incidence, Burden, and Vaccine Strategies
Provisionally accepted
Eiman Mokaddas1Amina Khalfan Al-Jardani2Nermin Kamal Saeed3
Sanjay Doiphode4
Abiola Senok5,6*Jean Joury7
Mohamed Egaila7- 1Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait, Kuwait
- 2Central Public Health Laboratories, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman
- 3Pathology Department, Salmaniya Medical Complex Government Hospitals, Manama, Bahrain
- 4Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- 5College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 6School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- 7Pfizer Gulf FZ LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) presents a significant public health challenge in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, particularly affecting vulnerable populations such as young children and individuals with chronic conditions. This narrative review synthesizes recent data from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to assess the epidemiology of IPD, the burden of disease, serotype distribution, and risk factors. Across the GCC, there is a notable variability in serotype distribution, with non-Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) 13 serotypes like 8, 15B, 22F, 33F, etc. becoming prominent. In Kuwait, PCV13 provided 61.5% serotype coverage, while in Oman, coverage is limited to 37.1%. Qatar reports higher coverage of 78.26% for children under two, however PCV13 strains such as 3 and 19A remain dominant. Antibiotic resistance is rising in several countries, especially in Kuwait and the UAE, where multidrug-resistant strains are becoming more common. The review also highlights the challenges posed by socioeconomic factors, including limited healthcare access, particularly among expatriates. While PCV13 has led to reductions in vaccine-covered serotypes, the emergence of non-PCV13 serotypes suggests the need for higher-valency vaccines like PCV20. Strengthening surveillance, expanding local research, and improving vaccination strategies tailored to the region's unique demographic and healthcare landscape are essential for mitigating IPD burden.
Keywords: Invasive pneumococcal disease, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Gulf region, Epidemiology, serotype distribution, Risk factors, vaccination strategies
Received: 07 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mokaddas, Al-Jardani, Saeed, Doiphode, Senok, Joury and Egaila. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abiola Senok, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.