Optimal protection against preventable diseases for adolescents can be provided through routine vaccination. Vaccinations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention can reduce morbidity and mortality associated with influenza, meningococcal, human papillomavirus, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis infections. Most reported ad...

BACKGROUND There are concerns that quality of medical care may be poorer on weekends than weekdays. Invasive meningococcal disease, comprising septicaemia and meningitis, is often life threatening unless it is immediately and effectively treated regardless of day of the week. We test the hypothesis that numbers of deaths from meningococcal disease outside hospital without admission, and case fa...

Neonatal meningococcal meningitis (NMM) is rare, although early onset and late onset forms of meningococcal sepsis in neonates have been reported. The outcome of meningococcal disease can be fatal and depends on the innate immune system, age, serogroups, pre-existing antibodies, and other unknown host factors. The presentation of NMM differs from that in children and adolescents and may present...

(See the articles by Mueller et al. and by Vu et al., on pages 812–20 and 821–8, respectively.) It is estimated that there are 1400–2800 cases of invasive meningococcal infections each year in the United States, and sero-groups B, C, and Y cause approximately one-third of the cases each [1]. The highest age-specific incidence occurs in young children, but a secondary peak is seen in adolescents...

Meningococcal disease is a serious life-threatening bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitides with its most common clinical presentations: meningococcal meningitis (which has high morbidity and low mortality) and meningococcemia or Meningococcal septicemia (which has low morbidity and high mortality). Globally, Neisseria meningitidis causes meningitis in about 47.3% of cases and Meni...

INTRODUCTION Vaccine responses are often reduced in the elderly, leaving part of the elderly population vulnerable to infectious diseases. Timely vaccination may offer a solution for strengthening memory immunity before reaching old age, which classifies middle-aged persons as a target age group for vaccine interventions. However, knowledge regarding the immunogenicity of primary immunizations ...

Recommendations for routine vaccinations in children and adolescents have changed multiple times in recent years, based on findings in clinical trials, licensure of new vaccines, and evidence of waning immunity. Despite the overwhelming success of vaccinations, vaccine delay and refusal are leading to pockets of vaccine-preventable diseases. Schedules for diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, and ace...

A century of traditional vaccinology lost the fight against meningococcus serogroup B (MenB). However, thanks to an innovative genome-based approach, the first broadly effective MenB vaccine, Bexsero® (GSK Vaccines), was developed and has been licensed for use in various age groups by the European Commission and other regulatory authorities. Genes encoding for the main meningococcus B antigens ...

During its October 2013 meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended use of a third meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenACWY-CRM (Menveo, Novartis), as an additional option for vaccinating infants aged 2 through 23 months at increased risk for meningococcal disease. MenACWY-CRM is the first quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine licensed for use in children...

Invasive meningococcal disease is a recognized public health problem worldwide, with a dynamic and changeable epidemiology. In Turkey, the second most common pathogenic meningococcal serogroup (after serogroup B) is W-135, including an epidemic in 2005, which has been strongly associated with Hajj pilgrims and their close contacts. In two studies conducted in 2010, we assessed meningococcal car...