Biomaterial Database

Meningococcal disease: how to prevent and how to manage. 2002

Paul Balmer, and Elizabeth Miller

Vaccine Evaluation Department, Manchester Public Health Laboratory Service, Withington Hospital, Manchester, UK.

Meningococcal disease is a significant problem in the paediatric population. The diagnosis of meningococcal disease can be problematic and progression of the disease can rapidly lead to a life-threatening illness. Despite the success of antibiotic treatment, mortality rates remain high. The development of protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines has significantly improved the success of vaccination in reducing the incidence of meningococcal disease. However, a comprehensive vaccine conferring protection against disease-associated serogroups remains elusive. The aim of this review is to highlight recent significant improvements in the prevention and management of meningococcal disease.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008589	Meningococcal Infections	Infections with bacteria of the species NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS.	Meningococcal Septicemia,Infections, Meningococcal,Meningococcal Disease,Infection, Meningococcal,Meningococcal Diseases,Meningococcal Infection,Septicemia, Meningococcal
D009345	Neisseria meningitidis	A species of gram-negative, aerobic BACTERIA. It is a commensal and pathogen only of humans, and can be carried asymptomatically in the NASOPHARYNX. When found in cerebrospinal fluid it is the causative agent of cerebrospinal meningitis (MENINGITIS, MENINGOCOCCAL). It is also found in venereal discharges and blood. There are at least 13 serogroups based on antigenic differences in the capsular polysaccharides; the ones causing most meningitis infections being A, B, C, Y, and W-135. Each serogroup can be further classified by serotype, serosubtype, and immunotype.	Diplokokkus intracellularis meningitidis,Meningococcus,Micrococcus intracellularis,Micrococcus meningitidis,Micrococcus meningitidis cerebrospinalis,Neisseria weichselbaumii
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015994	Incidence	The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases in the population at a given time.	Attack Rate,Cumulative Incidence,Incidence Proportion,Incidence Rate,Person-time Rate,Secondary Attack Rate,Attack Rate, Secondary,Attack Rates,Cumulative Incidences,Incidence Proportions,Incidence Rates,Incidence, Cumulative,Incidences,Person time Rate,Person-time Rates,Proportion, Incidence,Rate, Attack,Rate, Incidence,Rate, Person-time,Rate, Secondary Attack,Secondary Attack Rates
D018074	Vaccines, Conjugate	Semisynthetic vaccines consisting of polysaccharide antigens from microorganisms attached to protein carrier molecules. The carrier protein is recognized by macrophages and T-cells thus enhancing immunity. Conjugate vaccines induce antibody formation in people not responsive to polysaccharide alone, induce higher levels of antibody, and show a booster response on repeated injection.	Conjugate Vaccine,Conjugate Vaccines,Vaccine, Conjugate
D022401	Meningococcal Vaccines	Vaccines or candidate vaccines used to prevent infection with NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS.	Bivalent Meningococcal Vaccine,Menactra,Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine,Meningococcal Vaccine,Menomune,Menveo,Tetravalent Meningococcal Vaccine,Meningococcal Vaccine, Bivalent,Meningococcal Vaccine, Tetravalent,Polysaccharide Vaccine, Meningococcal,Vaccine, Meningococcal,Vaccine, Meningococcal Polysaccharide,Vaccines, Meningococcal