Adolescents Should Get A Vaccine Against Bacterial Meningitis

Adolescents Should Get A Vaccine Against Bacterial Meningitis.
Teenagers should get a booster nip of the vaccine that protects against bacterial meningitis, a United States constitution consultive has recommended. The panel made the recommendation because the vaccine appears not to last as long as beforehand thought. In 2007, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that the meningitis vaccine - as usual given to college freshman - be offered to 11 and 12 year olds, the Associated Press reported top. The vaccine was initially aimed at extreme persuasion and college students because bacterial meningitis is more dangerous for teens and can sprawl easily in crowded settings, such as dorm rooms.

At that time the panel thought the vaccine would be capable for at least 10 years. But, information presented at the panel's meeting Wednesday showed the vaccine is remarkable for less than five years increase. The panel then decided to recommend that teens should get a booster sharpshooter at 16.

Although the CDC is not bound by its advisory panels' recommendations, the agency usually adopts them. However, a US Food and Drug Administration official, Norman Baylor, said more studies about the shelter and effectiveness of a assist dose of the vaccine are needed, the AP reported.

Some at the assembly wondered if it was even necessary to make such a decision. Cases of bacterial meningitis are at historic lows, and a view of more than 200 colleges and universities - representing more than 2 million students - in the model academic year found 11 cases of bacterial meningitis and three deaths, the AP reported.

In a information release issued after the vote, the National Meningitis Association said it "supports the steadfastness to maintain meningococcal immunization at age 11-12 and to add a booster dose to provide increased interdicting of disease among adolescents throughout their high-risk years. This is a good public haleness decision that will protect our children from meningococcal disease".

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, and is for the most part caused by a viral or bacterial infection. The disease can result in percipience damage, hearing loss or learning disabilities, according to the CDC. In January, the New England Journal of Medicine published a investigation that found that rates of pneumococcal meningitis have declined substantially since a vaccine was introduced in 2000.

The declines were seen not only in children given the vaccine but also in adults, suggesting a "herd immunity" effect, the chew over authors noted. To assess the result of the vaccine, researchers from several universities analyzed watch data from 1998 to 2005 in eight states women seeking men randfontein. The number of cases of the cancer dropped 30 percent in that time, but the effect on the very youngest and oldest was even more pronounced: Incidence decreased by 64 percent in those younger than 2 and by 54 percent in those older than 65.