Meningitis vaccine could save your teen’s life
Getting vaccinated against meningococcal disease might not be at the top of your teen or preteen’s priority list, but it’s a smart move for middle schoolers and students headed to college, some health experts say.
The disease, which can snuff people out in the prime of their lives, can be spread through close personal contact, such as kissing, and sicken roommates and dating partners.
“It can take you out in 12 hours,” said Dr. Gary Marshall, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases for University of Louisville Physicians. “Fortunately, it’s pretty rare.”
Still, “you want your kid protected before they start to get exposed,” so middle schoolers are among those targeted for vaccination, he said.
The two most common forms of the disease are meningitis, an infection of the fluid and lining around the brain and spinal cord, and septicemia, a bloodstream infection.
“College students are a recognized risk group, just like military recruits,” said Dr. Phillip Bressoud, executive director for campus health services at the University of Louisville, where vaccination is required of incoming freshmen. “Anytime you house people in close quarters (that) puts them at risk.”
There is more than one type of vaccine available to help protect children and youths across the country from meningococcal disease.
For several years, vaccines that protect against the A, C, W and Y strains (or serogroups) of the disease have been routinely recommended for adolescents, Marshall said. Often, one dose is given at ages 11 or 12 and a booster dose is given at ages 16 to 18.
Recently, new vaccines covering B-strain meningococcal disease have become available.
“With the 4-valent (older) vaccine, we’re able to prevent 70 to 80 percent of the disease that would occur in teenagers,” said Marshall, who has connections to several vaccine manufacturers as a researcher and adviser. “There’s another 20 to 30 percent that would be preventable if everyone got the B vaccine.”
In June, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — a committee that advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s director — gave a soft vote in favor of the B-strain vaccines being given to people ages 16 to 23 but did not give them its strongest endorsement.
“For the 4-valent (older vaccine), it is recommended for every teenager to get the two doses, but for the B strain, it is an option,” said Marshall, a professor of pediatrics at the UofL School of Medicine. “... The decision about whether to use it is an individual decision between the physician and the patient.”
There is a more firm recommendation for the B vaccine for certain groups, such as people who do not have a spleen or who have particular issues with their immune system.
Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. About one out of 10 people are carriers, meaning they have this type of bacteria in the back of their nose and throat but have no signs or symptoms, according to the CDC. The chances that those people will become ill are extremely low, Marshall said.
The disease — commonly diagnosed in infants as well as adolescents, and young adults — can be spread from person to person through respiratory and throat secretions, such as saliva, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s easily spread through coughing and sneezing when you’re in close contact with somebody who’s infected,” Bressoud said.
The University of Louisville requires all incoming freshmen to receive one dose of the older vaccine after the age of 16.
“That gets them covered when they first move to the dorms and come on campus,” Bressoud said. “We want everybody vaccinated. … Even if they may not live in the dorms, they may be going to parties (or) other locations” where it could spread.
Bressoud estimated that UofL has a case or two of meningitis a year, but it usually turns out to be a different type, viral meningitis, which tends to be less severe than bacterial meningitis and isn’t covered by the vaccines.
Reporter Darla Carter can be reached at (502) 582-7068, firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter @PrimeDarla.
If you suspect that you or your child have meningococcal disease, such as meningitis or septicemia, contact a doctor right away.
•Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis: Sudden onset of fever, headache and stiff neck. Also, there may be nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and confusion. Symptoms may appear right away or over several days.
•Symptoms of meningococcal septicemia (bloodstream infection): Fatigue; vomiting; cold hands and feet; cold chills; severe aches or pain in the muscles, joints, chest or abdomen; rapid breathing; diarrhea; dark purple rash (in later stages).
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Neither Kentucky nor Indiana has a blanket requirement for college students to be vaccinated against meningococcal disease, although individual schools may require it. But Kentucky requires post-secondary educational institutions to provide information about meningococcal vaccine to full-time students living in residential housing, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. In Indiana, colleges and universities are required to educate parents about meningococcal disease and its risks, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Kentucky school children are required to receive one dose of meningococcal vaccine for sixth-grade entry, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. The requirement does not include new meningococcal B vaccines.
Indiana children entering sixth grade also are required to receive the older vaccine, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. There is a booster requirement for children entering their senior year of high school.