Vaccinations-Are they effective? Pres Thurles

Vaccinations- Are they effective?

Introduction How are they made? History The Polio Vaccine The Rubella Vaccine e-mail us TB & MMR

The Tetanus Vaccine How they work! Who should be vaccinated? Side Effects Disadvantages

The Meningococcal C Vaccine

The new meningococcal C conjugate vaccine uses the same technology that was applied to the development of the Hib conjugate vaccine. Whilst the vaccine is new, the constituents of the vaccines are not and have been used for a number of years. The polysaccharide and carrier proteins have been used separately in other vaccines safely in millions of doses.

The technique called conjugation involves attaching a carrier protein to the polysaccharide antigen formed from the coat of the bacteria. The carrier proteins used in the new MenC conjugate vaccines are a non-toxic derivative of diphtheria toxin (CRM197) or tetanus toxoid. The resultant vaccine induces a T-cell dependent antibody response and immunilogical memory, and it is immunogenic in children under 2yrs of age. This vaccine therefore, overcomes the limitations of the currently available polysaccharide vaccine.

This vaccine has proved to be very successful in the UK where after the initial immunisation program there has been a 90% reduction in the number of cases in young people and an 82% reduction in babies. This has occurred after approximately 18million babies and young people were given the vaccination. The immunisation project started in Ireland in September 2000 and by mid December approximately 350,000 had received the vaccination making it the most successful vaccination program in the history of the state. Side effects to this vaccine were few and caused little concern. Only 143 people suffered adverse reactions to this vaccine and these reactions were of a mild nature. Only one person was hospitalised after vaccination with the new vaccine.

Meningitis

Meningitis can result from many organisms including meningococcus otherwise known as Neisseria meningitidis. This bacteria is capable of causing both an epidemic and an epidemic disease. The three strains of meningitis which come from this bacteria are types A, B and C. Ireland has the highest incidence of meningitis in Europe. Type B accounts for 60% 0f all cases of meningitis in Ireland while type C accounts for the other 40%. Type B has a higher fatality rate than type C.

Meningitis is transmitted through droplets expelled from an infected person while coughing, sneezing or kissing. Transmission from person to person occurs only after frequent or close prolonged contact. Up to 25% of adolescents and 5-11% of adults carry the Neisseria meningitides bacteria without showing signs or symptoms of the disease. These people are known as carriers. What triggers the disease to develop in certain people is unknown. Approximately 1 in 25 people who develop meningococcal disease report a reduced quality of life. The most common long-term effects are skin sores, hearing loss, seizures, limb amputations and brain damage.

Signs and Symptoms of Meningitis

Early stages of infection:

Fever
Stiff neck
Severe headache
Pain in back or joints
Vomiting
A high pitched, moaning cry (babies)
Difficult to wake (babies)
Refusal to eat (babies)
Pale or blotchy skin (babies)

Later stages of infection:

Dislike of bright lights (photophobia)
Reduced awareness/drowsiness (which may lead to a coma)

Bruise like rash that doesn’t fade under pressure – tumbler test.

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