Meningitis Strikes at Naval Academy: What You Need to Know About Vaccines
By Sarah Hagerty
No doubt many of our readers have heard the sad news concerning the death of Midshipman Frederick Eissler, who succumbed to bacterial meningitis on Monday, November 17, 2008 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends in Pennsylvania and his “family” at the Academy.
His loss may have prompted concerned parents to give some thought to the subject of meningitis vaccines and their availability to children. Your first step should be to visit your family doctor. Here is some information to prepare you for the visit:
- Vaccines are a very complicated area, but there are basically two groups of meningitis vaccines available for your children. (A third group is targeted at individuals over 65 years of age.) The first is call Hib and is given in infancy, often in a four-shot process between the ages of two months and 15 months. The Hib Vaccine fights Haemophilus influenzae type B. At one time, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hib was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis. The inclusion of the vaccine in children’s routine immunizations in the 1990s, however, dramatically reduced Hib’s occurrence. The CDC considers the Hib vaccines very safe and highly effective.
- There are several vaccines available which target meningococcal meningitis. Talk with your doctor to get all the details about these shots. The CDC recommends that children aged 11 through 18 years of age receive one dose of the meningococcal vaccine, ideally between the ages of 11 and 12. You should also be aware that the State of Maryland (along with 22 other states) requires all college students living on campuses to be immunized.
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sarah hagerty
nov 08
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