This was successfully posted to your pofile.
This box will close automatically in a few seconds. Close this window
We don't have an e-mail address on file for you. To use AAFP Connection, you must have an e-mail address in our records. Click Here
NFID Initiative Aims to 'S.T.O.P. Meningitis!'
Program Has Updated Free Resources for Docs, Parents
By News Staff
The initiative's updated tools for health care professionals and patient education materials include
- a meningococcal disease fact sheet,
- tip sheets about vaccine delivery and reimbursement,
- posters,
- letters to parents,
- phone scripts,
- standing orders,
- a patient education video, and
- a video question and answer with vaccine experts.
Although that number might seem relatively low in a country of more than 300 million people, Baker said the death rate is 11 percent in the general population and 14 percent in adolescents and young adults. As many as 19 percent of survivors face permanent damage, including hearing loss, brain damage and limb amputations, she said.
The majority of U.S. cases are caused by serogroups B, C and Y, according to the NFID website, but neither licensed vaccine protects against type B.
Even so, said Baker, "Vaccination offers the best protection."
Before effective vaccines were widely available, bacterial meningitis was most commonly diagnosed in children, according to the CDC, but the disease is now more commonly diagnosed among adolescents and young adults.
The AAFP and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, expanded recommendations for meningococcal vaccination in 2007, calling for immunization of all individuals ages 11-18 years with one dose of MCV4 at the earliest opportunity.
Vaccination coverage for MCV4, which is marketed by Sanofi Pasteur as Menactra, increased from 32.4 percent in 2007 to 41.8 percent in 2008 in 13- to 17-year-olds, according to the CDC.
Groups at increased risk for meningococcal infection, say CDC officials, include infants and young children, refugees, household contacts of case patients, military recruits, college freshmen who live in dormitories, microbiologists who work with isolates of N. meningitidis, patients without spleens or with terminal complement component deficiencies, and people exposed to active or passive tobacco smoke.
Meningococcal vaccination is not a requirement for travel to any country except Saudi Arabia, but the CDC said vaccination is recommended for individuals traveling to the "meningitis belt" in Africa from December through June.
ACIP Ponders Changing Its Recommendation Process
AAFP Voices Support for Evidence-based, Graded System
(6/30/2010)
CDC Survey Shows Gains in Overall Adolescent Vaccination Rates for 2008
But Majority Still Lack Immunizations for Tdap, MCV4
(10/21/2009)
New Recommendations Aim to Broaden Meningococcal Vaccine Coverage
(8/22/2007)
More From AAFP
Immunizations
Additional Resources
S.T.O.P. Meningitis!
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: "National, State and Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years -- United States, 2008"
(Sept. 18, 2009)
CDC: Meningitis
This was successfully posted to your pofile.
This box will close automatically in a few seconds. Close this window
We don't have an e-mail address on file for you. To use AAFP Connection, you must have an e-mail address in our records. Click Here
Study: PPI Does Not Routinely Improve Asthma Control
Recalled Oral Contraceptives Pose Pregnancy Risk
CDC to Fund 2D Vaccine Barcoding Pilot
2012 Immunization Schedules Reflect Multiple Changes
Study: Cognitive Decline Detected in Middle-aged Adults
CDC Toolkit Can Help Clinicians Fight Norovirus Infection
Patient-Centered Care Linked to Lower Mortality
Study: Inappropriate Cancer Screenings Continue
Novartis Manufacturing Plant Closes After Drug Mix-ups
FDA Announces Classwide REMS for TIRF Medications
New Infants' Acetaminophen Products Hit Store Shelves
Avoid Environmental Factors Linked to Breast Cancer
Risk for Thrombosis Prompts REMS for Rivaroxaban
Common Drugs Implicated in Most Emergency Hospitalizations
CDC Launches Campaign for Child Medication Safety
HHS Blocks Expanded OTC Access to Plan B
Push Is On to Vaccinate Pregnant, Postpartum Women
FDA Committee Votes to Broaden PCV13 Indication
AAFP Foundation Program Aims to Fight Chronic Disease
NIAAA Alcohol Screening Guide Targets Teens
Walgreens, AAFP Launch Flu Vaccine Pilot in Five States
Helping Patients Quit Smoking Starts With a Question
Trilipix Efficacy in Question, Says FDA
USPSTF Addresses Skin Cancer, Obesity, Cervical Cancer Screening
AAFP Endorses ACP Guideline on ED
ACIP Recommends Expanded HPV, Hepatitis B Vaccination
Bacterial Contamination Spurs Nasal Spray Recall
CDC Renews Call for PCV13 Vaccination
USPSTF Recommends Against PSA Screening
AAFP Supports HHS' Million Hearts Initiative
FDA Phases Out Primatene Mist Inhalers
AHRQ Guides Explain Benefits, Risks of GERD Treatments
Office Champions Project Nets Smoking Cessation Gains
Multiple Lots of Oral Contraceptives Recalled
New Vaccine Review Finds Few Adverse Events
HPV Vaccination Rates Still Lag, Says CDC
Renal Injury Prompts Reclast Label Changes
High-dose Citalopram Linked to Abnormal Heart Rhythms
AHRQ Sleep Apnea Guides Review Diagnosis, Management
Board Chair Spotlights Breadth of Family Medicine Training
USPSTF Softens Stance on Bladder Cancer Screening
HHS Expands Coverage for Women's Preventive Services
Teledermatology Project Aids Underserved Patients

