Vaccine-preventable diseases and their impact on Latin American children.

A joint meeting of the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, the Dominican Society of Pediatrics and the Dominican Society of Vaccinology was held in the Dominican Republic. This report highlights the most relevant issues that were presented and discussed about vaccine-preventable diseases, their epidemiology and impact in Latin American children, the need to move forward and expand national immunization programs and the economical and political obstacles to introduce 'new' vaccines. These include those against Streptococcus pneumoniae, rotavirus, hepatitis A, varicella, Neisseria meningitidis, Bordetella pertussis, influenza and human papillomavirus, among others.