Meningitis vaccine: What parents need to know
The brain and spinal cord is surrounded by protective membranes called meninges. An infection to the meninges results in the disease called Meningitis. Meningococcal infection can be life-threatening and the worst at risk are teenagers, young babies and children. This scary disease causes septicaemia or blood poisoning thereby causing irreversible damage to the brain and/or nerves. There are vaccines that can provide a good amount of protection against meningitis, provided you take them. Two vaccines protect against four types of meningococcal diseases. An additional vaccine is known to protect against serotype B, which also is one of the causes of meningitis. The age-based incidences of meningococcal disease and bacterial meningitis in England and Wales in 2005 were 31.3 per 100,000 among the age groups 0–4 years. The alarming rates of this infection have made it all the while more necessary to get vaccinated. With meningitis vaccination Streatham and Meningitis vaccination Syd...