2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
1 Update on General Medicine
Chapter 12: Preventive Medicine
Immunization
Meningococcus
For the prevention of meningococcal meningitis, there are 3 meningococcal conjugate vaccines (Hib-MenCY, Men ACWY-D, and Men ACWY-CRM) and 1 unconjugated vaccine (MPSV4) available; these vaccines are recommended for use in all adolescents aged 11–18 as well as military personnel, college students living in dormitories, travelers to endemic areas (such as sub-Saharan Africa), close contacts of infected patients, new outbreaks, and high-risk patients (especially splenectomized and complement-deficient patients). The Men-ACWY vaccines are recommended for high-risk patients aged 2–10 or 19–55 years. These vaccines are approximately 85% effective in preventing the spread of group C meningococcal infections, but they will not prevent infection from strains of meningococcus not represented in the vaccine. Immunity may wane over time, so revaccination may be required.
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MacNeil JR, Rubin L, Folaranmi T, Ortega-Sanchez IR, Patel M, Martin SW. Use of serogroup B meningococcal vaccines in adolescents and young adults: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015;64(41):1171–1176.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 1 - Update on General Medicine. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.