Meningococcus is a microorganism that causes various diseases in humans. This disease, which is usually seen in children and adults, causes meningitis. This bacterium can be easily transmitted through the air or through droplets containing bacteria, such as coughing, so great care must be taken. Child Health and Diseases Specialist. Dr. Selda Yılmaz said, “Meningococcal disease starts as a mild upper respiratory tract infection and is not likely to be diagnosed in the first examination, but within hours it creates a picture that leads to fever, rash, loss of consciousness and rapidly organ failure.”
CAN CREATE PERMANENT PROBLEMS
Emphasizing that 5 to 30 percent of living people have very serious permanent problems such as deafness, vision loss, seizures, limb loss and mental retardation, Specialist Dr. Selda Yılmaz said, “One of the most important features that distinguishes meningococcal meningitis from other meningitis is that it can cause epidemics (epidemics).
PREVENTION CAN BE TAKEN WITH VACCINE
Stating that vaccines are necessary to prevent meningococcal disease, Dr. Yılmaz said, “The use of vaccines has been started in our country since 2 months old. All children from 2 months of age should have these vaccinations. Meningococcal disease is a disease that is difficult to recognize and can be very serious when diagnosed. But today it has become one of the infectious diseases that can be prevented by vaccination. Some people are at greater risk for meningococcal disease. The most important of these is age. The disease is more common in babies younger than 1 year old (in the first 6 months in this group) and young people between the ages of 15-24. 35-40% of the disease that occurs in children under the age of 5 is seen under 1 year of age.
VACCINATION DEPENDS ON AGE
Explaining that N. meningitidis was found to be the first among childhood bacterial meningitis agents in our country between 2005 and 2012, Yılmaz said, “There are 5 subgroups of meningococcal bacteria. Each of them can cause infection separately. Therefore, vaccination should be done to cover all subgroups. There are meningococcal vaccines that contain four-component serogroups A/C/W135/Y together and only serogroup B. Some countries make these vaccines in children and adolescents in the routine vaccination scheme. The vaccination scheme varies according to age. Considering the common age group It is recommended to start as early as possible. As a result of the studies, it has been determined that the vaccines are effective and have a low side-effect profile in infants, children, adolescents and adults.