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The Epidemiology and Prevention of Meningococcal Disease in Children

Stephen Hawkings

Neisseria meningitidis causes meningococcal illness; 13 serogroups have been found and distinguished from one another by their capsular polysaccharide. Nearly all infections in the globe are caused by serotypes A, B, C, W, X, and Y. Meningitis and invasive meningococcal illness are the most common clinical symptoms, both of which are associated with substantial mortality and long-term consequences. Children under the age of one year and adolescents, who are typically asymptomatic carriers, have a greater infection rate. The most efficient means of preventing infection and transmission is vaccination. Both monovalent (against A, B, and C serotypes) and quadrivalent (against serogroups ACYW) meningococcal vaccines are currently available and recommended based on local epidemiology. The goal of this article is to outline meningococcal vaccinations and identify tools that can be used to reduce transmission and increase immunisation coverage. Switching from a monovalent to quadrivalent vaccine in the first year of life, increasing vaccine promotion against ACYW serotypes among adolescents, and extending the free anti-meningococcal B vaccine offer to teens, co-administering it with others proposed in the same age group could all help achieve this goal. Greater knowledge of the disease's seriousness, as well as greater health education via the internet and social media, may be the most effective strategy for increasing vaccination campaign adherence and active engagement. Finally, another key goal should be the development of a licenced universal meningococcal vaccination


Publicación de revisión por pares para asociaciones, sociedades y universidades pulsus-health-tech
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