Pneumococcal Infection Prevention in Sickle Cell Disease
Pneumococcal Infection Prevention in Sickle Cell Disease: Sickle cell disease (SCD) significantly increases vulnerability to pneumococcal infections, particularly invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) such as bacteremia, sepsis, and meningitis. The spleen, essential in filtering bacteria like Streptococcus pneumoniae, becomes functionally impaired or auto-infarcted early in life in individuals with SCD. This functional asplenia compromises immune defense,