Medical Health Encyclopedia

Meningitis caused by meningococcal bacteria

ACIP recommendations now call for routine vaccination for all young adolescents (aged 11-12) as well as those previously defined as at increased risk:

People exposed to single cases or outbreaks; freshmen college students living in dorms; military recruits; travelers to developing countries where outbreaks have occurred; patients with problems in the spleen.

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Vaccines are available against four subtypes of meningococcal bacteria but not for serogroup B, which causes up to 40% of meningococcal disease in the US. Among young people, fatalities have been higher in 15- to 24-year-olds than those younger than 15.