Why pneumococcal surveillance must continue.

Pneumonia, two-thirds of which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, is the single most common vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than 5 years, leading to approximately 700 000 deaths per year in those younger than 5 years.1 To continue to monitor the effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccines to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is important.