World Meningitis Day: A Disease With A Vaccine

World Meningitis Day is celebrated on April 24 every year. Today, the emphasis is not only on raising awareness about the disease, but also about vaccination.

Meningitis is a disease for which vaccines have been developed to prevent its bacterial forms. Medical associations are calling for increasing numbers of vaccinations.

You have to understand that this is a serious condition. Meningitis starts in the meninges. However, it can take the form of sepsis and then lead to death. The death rate from this disease is about 10%, which means that 10 out of 100 infected patients die.

The consequences are also quite serious. Up to 30% of children with meningitis suffer from growth delays and seizures. Loss of senses, such as sight and hearing, are also common consequences.

However, vaccinations against meningitis can stop Haemophilus influenzae type b, meningococci and pneumococci, the main bacterial causes of this disease. Some countries carry out all of these immunizations while other countries carry out only a few.

But information is also important on World Meningitis Day. According to data from the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, more than 30% of people do not know that meningitis can be prevented. This misinformation is an obstacle to the spread of immunizations.

World Meningitis Day – what is meningitis?

World Meningitis Day is an opportunity to talk about this disease that causes meningitis. These are layers of tissue that line the brain, separating it from the skull bones, spinal cord and vertebrae.

When the meninges become inflamed, they press on other structures. This causes the characteristic symptoms of the disease. The classic triad of meningitis consists of fever, headache, and a stiff neck. One of the clinical tests to diagnose the disease is to try to mobilize the patient’s neck.

Diagnosis is more difficult in young children under two years of age. Sometimes medical professionals suspect it when a fever is accompanied by uncontrollable crying and a certain stiffness appears in the back of the neck. But, as we said, it can go unnoticed for a long time.

The causes of meningitis

Three main groups represent the infectious causes of meningitis: bacteria, viruses and fungi. World Meningitis Day focuses on these causes. Bacterial meningitis is preventable with vaccines. The bacteria that lead to problems in most cases are:

• meningococci. The official name of the bacterium is Neisseria meningitidis. The target audience is mainly teenagers. It usually makes the news when there are epidemics in closed or contact communities, such as schools or care centers.

• pneumococci. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the bacteria that causes the most cases of bacterial meningitis in babies lately. It is a microorganism that not only causes meningitis, but is also associated with pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). This pathogen is no longer the most common cause of this disease in children under the age of two, as the vaccine has had a major effect. It is a clear example of the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns.

Vaccines against meningitis

Vaccination is still the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases. Meningitis is of course an example of this. World Meningitis Day reaffirms the need to develop vaccination schedules with all the different alternatives.

The meningococcal vaccine should be added to the Haemophilus and pneumococcal vaccines, which are basically two:

• Quadrivalent (ACWY) Conjugated Vaccination
• Serogroup B meningococcal or MenB vaccinations

In addition, it is essential that the population is informed about these vaccinations and that they immunize their children. The existence of unvaccinated people is a breeding ground for bacterial meningitis to continue to spread around the world.

The existence of unimmunized humans can also lead to the mutation of microorganisms into wild forms that evade vaccine defenses.

World Meningitis Day to fight disinformation

World Meningitis Day campaigns are designed to educate people about the benefits of vaccines. Although this is a highly preventable disease, its prevention depends on medical professional associations, the political commitment to install the necessary vaccination capacity and the community itself.