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Meningitis Vaccine

Meningitis vaccine is available for some of the different types of the disease. For example, a vaccine has been developed to prevent meningitis due to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). This vaccine is recommended for all children two months of age to five years of age. Other examples of meningitis vaccines include the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) and meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4). A newly licensed pneumococcal meningitis vaccine appears to be effective for the prevention of pneumococcal infections in infants.

 

Meningitis Vaccine: An Overview

There are several causes of spinal meningitis. The two most common causes are bacteria and viruses.
 
There are a number of bacteria that can cause meningitis (see Causes of Spinal Meningitis). Before the 1990s, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but new vaccines being given to all children as part of their routine immunizations have reduced the occurrence of invasive disease due to H. influenzae.
 
Today, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis are the leading causes of bacterial meningitis. Just like with Hib, there are meningitis vaccines against some types of N. meningitidis and many types of S. pneumoniae.
 

Meningitis Vaccine to Prevent Hib

There is a meningitis vaccine to prevent meningitis due to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). The Hib meningitis vaccine is recommended for children two months to five years of age. The Hib vaccine is also recommended in people over the age of five with certain medical conditions. The Hib meningitis vaccine is very safe and effective, with rare occurrences of side effects.
 
(Click Hib Vaccine for more information about the vaccine used to prevent meningitis due to Haemophilus influenzae type b.)
 
(Meningitis Vaccine Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD