Support voiced for vaccine to prevent meningitis

Earlier use of a new meningococcal vaccine may provide protection to young teens through their vulnerable college years.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. June 20, 2005.

Washington -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended May 26 that meningococcal vaccine be given routinely to 11- and 12-year-olds, to previously unvaccinated 15-year-olds entering high school and to college freshmen living in dormitories.

The American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed the new directive in a policy statement issued the same day. The American Academy of Family Physicians also announced its support for the vaccine.

The CDC recommendations, which were also then published in the May 27 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are seen as an effective preventive strike against meningococcal disease, a potentially fatal bacterial infection, which, though rare, can progress rapidly. It kills about 300 of the 3,000 people infected by it each year, and survivors may have long-term disabilities that include hearing loss, limb amputation or brain damage.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices determined in February that establishing the target age for the vaccine at 11 may give lasting immunity through college. Studies have also found that the disease peaks in 16- to 18-year-olds, supporting the vaccination of 15-year-olds. Lifestyle factors, which include crowded living conditions, such as dormitories, make teens in college more vulnerable to the disease.