Vaccines to Control Antimicrobial Resistance in Uganda

Vaccines to Control Antimicrobial Resistance in Uganda: Projections from mathematical models and evidence from clinical studies

Vaccines reduce the spread of drug-resistant infections and antibiotic use.

Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV)

• In 2021, enteric infections led to 9,717 deaths in Uganda, with typhoid fever accounting for 731 of these.
• A typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) campaign of 10 years could avert 75 percent of drug-resistant typhoid cases and 71 percent of drug-resistant typhoid deaths and 76 percent of multidrug-resistant (MDR) cases and 73.1 percent of MDR deaths.
• As of January 2025, TCV has not been included in Uganda’s national immunization schedule.

Rotavirus Vaccine

• Rotavirus infections account for 2.71 percent of total deaths and 2.98 percent of lost disability-adjusted life years in Uganda due to diarrheal diseases.
  Viral enteric infections are often inappropriately treated with antibiotics.
• The rotavirus vaccine could prevent 7.6 cases (56 percent) of antibiotic-treated diarrhea per 100 children under 2 years of age.
• The rotavirus vaccine is included in the childhood immunization schedule in 2 doses, but improvement in coverage is needed.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)

• Lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and influenza, are among the leading causes of death in Uganda, accounting for 4.2 percent of total deaths in 2021.
• In 2020, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) was estimated to prevent 8.4 cases (80 percent) of antibiotic-treated acute respiratory infections per 100 children under 5.
• PCV is available in the childhood immunization schedule in 3 doses with 91 percent of children covered for all doses.

Read the report here.