2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
1 Update on General Medicine
Chapter 12: Preventive Medicine
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.
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.