Meningitis is fraught with serious consequences and a fatal outcome. The greatest danger is the purulent form of the disease. They cause inflammation of the brain. Is there a vaccine for this disease? Is it always easier to do prophylaxis than to treat it later? How to avoid infection?
Is there a vaccine against meningitis?
To find out if there is a vaccine for meningitis, you need to understand the types of the disease. It is caused by different pathogens: both bacteria and viruses of various species. In all cases, the disease develops rapidly, literally in a few days. The exception is the tuberculosis form. Its flow is slower. Especially common are purulent forms with an airborne droplet infection, caused by the following types of pathogens:
- meningococci;
- pneumococci;
- Haemophilus influenzae type B.
Is a vaccine mandatory for meningitis?
In Russia there is no such vaccine in the national calendar, and free immunization is carried out only in a few cases:
- When the epidemic, if the incidence rate reaches 20 children per one hundred thousand people.
- In a team where a child with a suspicion of a disease is found, all contact points should be vaccinated within a week.
- Immunization is affected by regions where the incidence rate is high.
- Obligatory vaccination of children with immunodeficiency.
In eighty countries, immunization against hemophilia is considered mandatory. In these countries, the incidence rate has been reduced to almost 0%. It begins to be carried out at the age of 2-3 months with a small interval, three times, together with DTP and polio. Vaccination against meningitis is recommended by the World Health Organization to all children. To protect yourself and your loved ones, you can get yourself at your own expense.
Grafting from meningitis to adults
The risk of morbidity in adults is much lower, but such a probability is not ruled out. This means that a vaccine for meningitis for the adult population is necessary in certain cases, with:
- high incidence rate in the region;
- the remote spleen;
- anatomical skull defects;
- AIDS and other types of immunodeficiency;
- women during pregnancy, when the risk of infection is higher than the risk of harm from the vaccine.
What is the name for the vaccine against meningitis?
Due to the diverse nature of the infection, there is not one specific drug for the prevention of this disease. A vaccine against meningitis, whose name can be included in the name of the vaccine complex, can be manufactured in different formulations, because in order to protect your organism from pathogen microorganisms, a whole complex of preparations is needed.
In the CIS countries, the vaccine AKT-HIB of foreign origin is widespread. It does not consist of a microbe, but of its constituents. This means that there are no viable pathogens for infection. It is produced in the form of a powder, which is diluted with a special solvent. Also ACT-HIB is used together with other vaccines, mixing them, to reduce the number of injections.
Meningitis vaccines - list
There are several drugs from bacterial varieties of the disease. Purulent forms can be caused by several kinds of bacteria, as already mentioned above. For the prevention of these diseases, the following drugs are used:
- The vaccine is from a hemophilic infection. This is ACT-HIB, which was mentioned above.
- The drug from meningococcal infection. This kind of sick regardless of age, but most often it's children under 1 year old. There are domestic and foreign analogs.
- PNEVMO-23 and Prevenar protect the body from the penetration of pneumococcal infection. 20-30% of the total number of bacterial forms of the disease are caused by these microorganisms. The method of transmission is airborne.
An excellent bonus is the protection of the body and from ARI. Another form is viral. It is considered to be more easy, is caused in 75-80% of cases by enterophytic infection. Vaccination from viral meningitis is mandatory childhood vaccination, according to the calendar. It includes vaccines against measles, rubella, mumps, chicken pox and influenza.
Response to inoculation against meningitis
In general, the vaccine against meningitis is well tolerated. It is not often after the introduction of the above drugs there are local reactions. This is redness, dullness, pain at the injection site. There is also a slight increase in body temperature. Within 1-3 days all unpleasant symptoms pass. It is necessary to remember the main contraindications for vaccination:
- other acute inflammatory processes;
- allergic reactions to previously introduced similar components.
Vaccination against meningitis - consequences
If we talk about the consequences, then they are more dangerous in case of illness. The vaccine against meningitis and pneumonia is just the opposite, created to avoid such. Diseases of unvaccinated children are severe. Fighting them is not easy, so it is better to make a choice in the direction of prevention. If the reaction to the vaccination does not pass or is stronger, it is better to immediately consult a doctor.
How much does the meningitis vaccine work?
Immunization creates a lasting protection against infection, which persists for many years. To strengthen immunity against the disease, it is necessary to carry out a revaccination on time. Hemophilus vaccination is done three times, with an interval of 1.5 months, starting at the age of 3 months. Meningococcal vaccination is carried out once, forms immunity in children for at least 2 years, in adults - for 10 years. Revaccination is recommended every three years.
The vaccine against otitis of meningitis and pneumonia or pneumococcal is used by two types of PNEVMO-23 (from the age of two) and Prevenar (from 2 months). Immunization has different patterns, which is due to the age of the vaccinated. The smallest drug is injected three times every 1.5 months. Revaccination is carried out at the age of 11-15 months. After six months, use a two-fold introduction with a month and a half intervals. Revaccination is also recommended at the age of 1-2 years. Adults and children older than 2 years of a single injection is sufficient.