About meningococcal meningitis

What parents need to know about meningococcal disease

You may have heard this disease referred to as meningococcal meningitis or meningococcemia. Meningococcal disease is a serious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that most often causes severe swelling of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or a serious blood infection (meningococcemia).1

According to the World Health Organization, meningococcal disease affects about 500,000 people annually. And about 50,000 people die from it every year.2 Even in the United States, there are as many as 1,200 to 3,500 cases of meningococcal disease yearly––the majority of which can be prevented by a vaccination.3,4

Indication

Menveo is a vaccine indicated for active immunization to prevent invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135. Menveo is approved for use in persons 2 to 55 years of age. Menveo does not prevent N. meningitidis serogroup B infections.

Important Safety Information

You should not receive Menveo if you have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient of the vaccine, or if you have had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine containing similar components as Menveo.

Side effects to Menveo include pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, and fainting. Sometimes fainting is accompanied by falling with injury. Other side effects may occur.

Following vaccination with another US-licensed meningococcal conjugate vaccine, an evaluation of postmarketing adverse events suggested a potential for increased risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). There is not enough information to evaluate if a risk of GBS exists following administration of Menveo.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant.

Vaccination with Menveo may not protect all individuals.

For more information about Menveo, talk to your health-care professional.

Menveo.com has been developed by Novartis Vaccines as part of the company’s commitment to individual and public health.

References

  1. Meningitis: Overview. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Web site. http://www.nfid.org/meningitis/. Accessed March 3, 2010.
  2. World Health Organization. Meningococcal vaccines: polysaccharide and polysaccharide conjugate vaccines. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2002;77;331–339. http://www.who.int/docstore/wer/pdf/2002/wer7740.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2010.
  3. McNabb SJN, Jajosky RA, Hall-Baker PA, et al. Summary of notifiable diseases—United States, 2006. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2008;55:1–92.
  4. Meningococcal: Questions and answers. Immunization Action Coalition Web site. http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4210.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2010.

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