Parents PACK Newsletter

April 2005

Parents PACK Newsletter

Possessing, Accessing and Communicating Knowledge about Vaccines 

In this issue:

• Feature Article: A new vaccine recommendation for meningococcus
• Spotlight: Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDS)
• Did you know?. . .Causes of meningitis
• Ask the VEC — Should my child get the new meningococcus vaccine if she got the old one?
• Calling all adolescents and their parents!

Feature article: A new vaccine recommendation for meningococcus

If you have a child who is 11, 12, or 15, or entering college in the fall, you should check with your child's doctor about a new vaccine recommendation for meningococcus, the bacterium that causes meningitis.

Meningococcus is a bacterium that lives on the lining of the nose and throat and is spread from one person to another by close contact, such as coughing, kissing or sharing items like utensils, beverages, or lip balm.  Meningococcus is particularly frightening because when someone becomes infected, the bacteria produce large quantities of a poison (called an endotoxin) very quickly.  This endotoxin rapidly overwhelms the immune system and can cause death within hours, even if the infected person was previously healthy.  Infection with meningococcus may result in a bloodstream infection, called sepsis, or an infection of the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.  Symptoms of sepsis may include fever, chills, rash, low blood pressure and dark purple spots on the arms and legs.  Symptoms of meningitis can include fever, headache, confusion and stiff neck.

In February 2005, the vaccine recommendation for meningococcus changed because a new, more effective vaccine became available.  Like the older version, this vaccine protects against four of the five types of meningococcus and is given as a shot. The new vaccine is different because part of the bacteria used for the vaccine is now attached to a helpful (and harmless) protein, resulting in a better immune response.  This means that the new vaccine probably won't require booster doses every 3 to 5 years like the old one did. The new vaccine is also better because it prevents the bacteria from living on the lining of the nose and throat, decreasing the likelihood that it will be passed from one person to another.

Each year in the United States about 2,500 people are infected with meningococcus, 300 die, and 400 are permanently disabled by the disease. Among people older than 2, meningococcus is most common in 15- to 19-year olds; therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all adolescents receive the new vaccine.  Because children under 2  do not develop a very good immune response to this vaccine, it is not recommended for this age group.  The good news is that children under 2 are less likely to die from meningitis than teenagers.

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Spotlight: Parents of Kids With Infectious Diseases (PKIDS)

Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDS) is an organization that "supports families whose children have been affected by viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases,..."  The group's mission includes educating the public, eliminating the social stigma borne by those that are infected, and assisting families of children living with these chronic diseases.  Their Web site, http://www.pkids.org has many resources for parents and families of children living with these diseases including information about reading lab reports, summer camp information, help in finding a doctor, "ask the expert" opportunities, and an online parent support group.  The group has designed a workshop to teach the public about infectious diseases and has started a collaboration in China called PKIDS China.  A current PKIDS' project is looking at where adolescents and their parents get information about immunizations.  For more information about how you can help, see the section below, "Calling all adolescents and their parents!"

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Did you know?. . .Causes of meningitis

Everyone has heard it on the news...the story of a local student infected with meningitis.  Such a report inevitably results in many questions and a great amount of concern and even fear among families with children in the affected school. There are some important considerations when this happens.  First, it is important to remember that meningitis refers to an infection that has reached the lining of the brain and spinal cord.  Second, it can be caused by viruses or bacteria (hence the reference to viral meningitis or bacterial meningitis).  Viral meningitis is often less severe than bacterial meningitis. Most, but not all, cases of bacterial meningitis can be prevented by vaccination.  The bacteria most often associated with meningitis include meningococcus, pneumococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae type B (often referred to as Hib). Fortunately, by the age of 2, most children are fully immunized against pneumococcus and Hib and soon most adolescents will be protected against meningococcus.

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Ask the VEC — Should my child get the new meningococcus vaccine if she got the old one?

Q. My daughter received the old meningococcus vaccine about a year ago.  Now I understand that there is a new one.  Can she get the new one, and, if so, how soon can she get it?

A. Yes, your daughter can receive the new meningococcus vaccine.  In fact, she will benefit from the newer vaccine because it eliminates the need for booster doses and decreases the amount of bacteria present in the nose and mouth, therefore decreasing the chance to pass it from one person to another.  A person who has received the old vaccine must wait at least one month before receiving the new vaccine.

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Calling all adolescents and their parents

PKIDS (see above) is conducting two separate surveys: one for adolescents and one for their parents.  The purpose of these surveys is to better understand where these two groups get their immunization-related information.

If you know an adolescent that may be interested in participating in the survey, please direct them to:
http://www.pkids.org/pkidsadolescentsurvey.htm. If you are the parent of an adolescent interested in participating in the survey, please go to: http://www.pkids.org/pkidsparentsurvey.htm. PKIDS thanks you for your help!

Send us your comments

If you have any comments about this newsletter or suggestions about how we can make our Web site more helpful, please send your comments to contactPACK@email.chop.edu.

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