More News Health News EPG Patient Direct News Feed

Health News

Your Vote

Default
Would you like your employer to provide better access to healthy foods?
Yes
No


Read more about this subject

This service contains links to third party websites. EPG Patient Direct is not in a position to verify this information and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the content contained.

   
 
Home >> Meningitis >> Prevention

Prevention

There are vaccines that protect against some forms of meningitis and septicaemia, but although these vaccines provide excellent protection, they can't prevent all the causes of these diseases. There is currently no available vaccine against all Group B meningococcal disease, the most common cause of meningococcal disease in many countries.

Meningitis vaccines currently available are as follows:

Meningococcal vaccines

MenC
This vaccine protects against Group C meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia and is routinely offered to babies in many countries. It is also available to older children and young people who have not already had the vaccine.

MenC vaccination campaigns have proven a great success in many countries across Europe. MenC vaccine was introduced into the UK childhood immunisation programme in 1999/2000 with a catch-up programme that eventually extended to everyone under 25 years of age in the UK, and under 23 years of age in Ireland. It reduced cases of Group C disease by over 90%. In the UK, it is now offered to babies as part of the routine immunisation schedule at 3 and 4 months with a booster at 12 months.

Mass vaccination campaigns with MenC conjugate vaccines have dramatically reduced disease in many other European countries including Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland and Portugal.

To read more about the MenC vaccine, click here.

ACWY tetravalent polysaccharide vaccine
A vaccine is available that provides a level of protection against meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia caused by Groups A, C, W-135 and Y. However, this vaccine is much less effective in young children and protection only persists for approximately 3-5 years. The ACWY vaccine, known as a tetravalent (4-type) polysaccharide vaccine, is now a visa requirement for Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and is also recommended for travel to certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

To read more information about travel and the ACWY tetravalent vaccine, click here.

ACWY tetravalent conjugate vaccine
Recently a conjugate vaccine providing persistent protection against four meningococcal serogroups has been licensed in the US (for use in adolescents and adults 11-55 years of age) and in Canada (for use in individuals 2-55 years of age). Additional tetravalent conjugate vaccines are in development with the aim of providing protection for all age groups including infants, children and adults.

Hib
The Hib vaccine protects against meningitis and septicaemia caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b. In the UK it is given as a combination vaccine that also protects against some other childhood diseases. In many other countries it is given as a single vaccine.

This vaccine has greatly reduced cases of Hib disease, including meningitis, since its introduction into the childhood vaccination schedule in 1992.

As part of the routine immunisation schedule in the UK, Hib vaccine is offered to babies at 2, 3 and 4 months with a booster dose at 12 months.

In the Republic of Ireland it is offered at 2, 4 and 6 months of age with a booster dose at 12 months.

To read more about the Hib vaccine, click here.

Pneumococcal
There are two main vaccines that protect against Streptococcus pneumoniae, the type of pneumococcal bacteria that causes most cases of pneumococcal disease, including meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia.

Conjugate vaccine
This vaccine contains seven different antigens that can protect children as young as 2 months of age against the types of pneumococcal disease responsible for about 80% of cases in the UK in children under 2 years of age.

Polysaccharide vaccine
The older polysaccharide vaccine containing 23 antigens provides a level of protection for people over 2 years of age and is recommended for people with immune deficiencies and other conditions that make pneumococcal disease more common or serious. However, it only provides protection for around 5 years.

For more information, please click here.

The following vaccines are also available:

  • Hib/MenC booster against both Group C meningococcal and Hib disease.
  • MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. This also protects against meningitis caused by mumps and measles.

Please remember that although currently available vaccines can provide excellent protection, there are several major forms of meningitis and septicaemia for which there are no vaccines.


This content was provided by the Meningitis Research Foundation with support from Novartis Vaccines.