One immunization may protect newborns against 2 serious diseases - CIDRAP

What the report says

CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota reported that a French study suggests nirsevimab, an antibody injection approved to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus, may also lower newborns’ risk of hospitalization for invasive pneumococcal disease. The study was published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and used records from the French National Health Data System.

According to CIDRAP, researchers reviewed data for nearly 530,000 babies born between Feb. 6, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024. About 120,000 infants, or 23%, received nirsevimab, sold as Beyfortus. Within six months, 17 treated infants developed invasive pneumococcal disease, compared with 95 infants who did not receive the antibody. The study estimated a 36% lower hospitalization risk among newborns who received nirsevimab, with an additional analysis indicating protection for at least nine months. Six deaths occurred in the non-immunized group and none in the treated group.

Nirsevimab was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 to prevent RSV, not pneumococcal disease. CIDRAP noted that RSV can be dangerous for infants and that pneumococcal infections, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, can progress to pneumonia, meningitis or sepsis. Existing pneumococcal vaccines have sharply reduced severe disease, but cases still occur from strains not covered by vaccines.

The report emphasized that the finding remains preliminary. Experts cited by CIDRAP said respiratory viruses can make bacterial infections more likely, but the biological link between RSV and pneumococcal disease is not fully understood. They also said the result should be confirmed because the number of invasive pneumococcal cases was small and the effect has been shown in one study so far.