ABSTRACT
Background: Acute lower respiratory infection is a major cause of death in children aged < 5 years in Morocco. The 13-va- lent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) was introduced to the Moroccan National Immunization Programme in 2010. Aims: To investigate the trend in the incidence of acute lower respiratory infection in children aged < 5 years during 2005–2014 in Morocco. Methods: Data on acute lower respiratory infection in children aged < 5 years were obtained from the data published annually by the Moroccan Ministry of Health. We used join point regression analysis to estimate the trend in incidence of acute lower respiratory infection during the study period. Results: The incidence of acute lower respiratory infection increased significantly between 2005 and 2011: by 3.08% annually in children aged < 5 years and by 3.24% annually in children aged 1 to < 5 year. However, the incidence was stable after 2011 as the observed trends were not significant, although the incidence decreased from 2011 to 2014 by 4.26% annually in children aged < 5 years, by 3.57% annually in children aged 1 to < 5 years and by 5.14% annually in urban areas. Conclusions: Our results suggest a probable influence of the PCV on the trend in incidence of acute lower respiratory infection in Morocco.
