The Center for Disease Control (CDC) chose not to mandate a newly-developed vaccine for a meningitis substrain Neisseria meningitidis, but to leave the decision to vaccinate up to parents and children with physician recommendations. Meningococcal meningitis is a serious condition which can be incredibly dangerous if not treated quickly. Vaccines for the strains A, C, Y and W-135 have been a part of vaccination requirements for over 10 years, while the vaccine for the serogroup B strain, Neisseria meningitidis, was developed last year. Questions about the vaccination requirements were raised amidst growing concerns linked to recent B-strain outbreaks.
Health Talk spoke with Mark Schleiss, M.D., professor in the Medical School and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, about the decision.
“We previously had vaccinations for the more common meningococcal strains, however, being immune to one strain does not mean a person has immunity to all the other strands,” said Schleiss. “Even though meningitis is a relatively rare disease, the strain B vaccination is a significant advancement.”
Meningococcal meningitis travels extremely quickly and is important to treat immediately. Symptoms can include a sudden fever, headache, rash, vomiting and an altered mental status. Though rare, it can be serious.
The vaccination for the four strains has been recommended for 11-to-12-year-olds since 2005, and the CDC decided last week that the MenB immunization will be classified as a Category B, or ‘permissive’ vaccination. Parents and their children will have the decision to choose if they want to receive the vaccination after a health care professional evaluates their risk.
“This level of recommendation brings a great deal of uncertainty,” said Schleiss. “It is much more clear for parents and adolescents to understand the benefits of the vaccination and the risks of not receiving it when a stronger recommendation is present. The second tier categories can have less of an impact on the public.”
A person is at a higher risk for meningitis if they are consistently exposed to a large amount of people. The bacteria groups circulate among people, so face-to-face contact with others in confined areas can increase a person’s risk. The biggest peak of diseases is in infancy, late adolescence and early adult adulthood.
“While the decision to give universal recommendations comes down to the financial aspects of the vaccination for the rare disease, we need to go beyond cost to consider the unpredictable nature of meningitis and the high fatality rate,” said Schleiss.
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