Healthy Habits: Meningitis Protection

With teenagers, there are certain things that come in non-negotiable pairs: a new driver’s license and extra insurance, a cell phone and social media. But parents may not be aware of one particularly crucial “pair”—two separate vaccines to help protect adolescents and teens against meningococcal disease.

It’s important for parents of adolescents and teens to be aware that there are two separate vaccines to help protect against different groups of meningococcal disease: one vaccine that helps protect against groups A, C, W and Y and a separate vaccine that helps protect against group B. These two vaccines are needed to help protect against the most common groups of meningococcal disease.[1]

Teens and adolescents are at increased risk given their phase of life. Innocent actions such as sharing a drink, a meal, or even a kiss with their significant other are all typical behaviors for teens; however, these could lead to the transmission of the bacteria that causes this very serious disease.[2]

To help parents of adolescents and teens better understand meningococcal disease, Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM, Professor of Pediatrics & Internal Medicine at the University of Alabama, was available for interviews. Dr. Coyne-Beasley discussed the risks and complications of meningococcal disease and her experience, including:

• Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, but serious disease that can attack without warning.[3],[4] Meningococcal disease can lead to meningitis(inflammation of the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord) and serious blood infections.4
• Meningococcal disease can progress rapidly, and early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from other more common infections—with flu-like symptoms such as headache, nausea and vomiting.1
• There are five common types of bacteria—groups A, B, C, W, and Y—that can cause the majority of this potentially deadly disease and for which vaccines are available in the United States.2 There are two separate vaccines that help protect against different groups of meningococcal disease: one vaccine that helps protect against groups A, C, W and Y and a different vaccine that helps protect against group B.1
• Meningococcal group B disease (MenB) accounts for nearly 69% of all U.S. meningococcal cases in 16- to 23-year-old adolescents and young adults.[5] It also has been the cause of all outbreaks of meningococcal disease at US colleges between 2011 and 2018.[6],[7]

If you’re a parent or caregiver and have questions about how to help protect your adolescent or teen against meningococcal disease, including MenB, the first and best step you can take is to talk to your child’s health care provider. To learn more, please visit www.MeetMeningitis.com.


Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM

• Director and Professor of the Division of Adolescent Medicine, and Vice Chair for Community Engagement, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Previously was the Director of the North Carolina (NC) Child Health Research Network at the NC Translational and Clinical Science Institute, Director of the NC Multidisciplinary Adolescent Research Consortium for Health, and Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at UNC School of Medicine
• Vaccine researcher and practicing pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at the UNC Children’s Primary Care Clinic in Chapel Hill, NC
• Appointed by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), where she was actively engaged in the development of vaccine recommendations for children, adolescents, and adults in the U.S. (2010)
• Immediate Past-President of the Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAHM) and previously served as a regional SAHM president

Interview courtesy: Pfizer
[1] Meningococcal Vaccines for Preteens, Teens. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/features/meningococcal/. Accessed March 2019.
[2] Tully J, Viner RM, Coen FG, et al. Risk and protective factors for meningococcal disease in adolescents: matched cohort study. BMJ. 2006;232(7539):445-450.
[3] Poland GA. Prevention of meningococcal disease: current use of polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;50:S45-S53.
[4] Serogroup B Meningococcal (MenB) VIS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mening-serogroup.html. Accessed March 2019.
[5] Enhanced meningococcal disease surveillance report, 2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/downloads/NCIRD-EMS-Report-2017.pdf. Accessed March 2019.
[6] Soeters H, McNamara L, Blain A, et al. University-Based Outbreaks of Meningococcal Disease Caused by Serogroup B, United States, 2013–2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/3/18-1574_article. Accessed March 2019.
[7] Until 2014, no vaccines were available in the U.S. to help protect against MenB, including individuals ages 16 to 23 who are at increased risk for the disease. (First vaccine approved by FDA to prevent serogroup B Meningococcal disease. US Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm420998.)