MENINGITIS VACCINE – MENINGOCOCCAL VACCINE – MENINGITIS VACCINATION – MENINGITIS IMMUNIZATION

What is meningococcal disease?
Meningococcal disease is a serious, potentially fatal infection that strikes an estimated 1,400 to 2,800 Americans every year. Even with rapid and appropriate treatment, about 1 in 10 people who are infected will die and up to 2 in 10 survivors will have permanent disabilities, like amputations, hearing loss or brain damage.

What are the symptoms of meningococcal disease?
People who get meningococcal disease most commonly have meningitis or blood infection. Meningitis, which is more common, causes high fever, headache and stiff neck. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting and mental status changes. Because the early symptoms are similar to other less severe illnesses, like the flu, it is often misdiagnosed.

Blood infection, also called bacteremia or sepsis, is less common but more deadly. It also may begin with sudden onset of fever, accompanied by fatigue, aches and headache, and about half of patients develop a prominent purplish rash, usually on the arms and legs.

Which adults should get vaccinated?
The CDC recommends vaccination for adults with certain risk factors:

• College freshmen living in a dormitory
• Military recruits
• Persons with a damaged spleen or no spleen or a protein disorder called “terminal complement deficiency”
• Microbiologists routinely exposed to the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease
• People traveling or residing in countries in which the disease is common (travelers should receive the vaccine at least one week before departure, if possible)

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) is the preferred vaccine for anyone who needs to be vaccinated between the ages of 2 and 55. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV) is an acceptable alternative when the conjugate vaccine is not available, or for adults over age 55. MCV and MPSV result in similar protection against meningococcal disease, but MCV is preferred because its protection is longer lasting and because it reduces the frequency of people being able to carry and pass on the bacteria to others without being sick themselves.

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Meningococcal Disease Information