Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
A new vaccine approved in 2000 to prevent invasive pneumococcal diseases in infants and toddlers, diseases that can cause brain damage and, in rare cases, death. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is not indicated for use in adults or as a substitute for other approved pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines approved for high-risk children over age two. The previous pneumococcal vaccine (PPV) was not recommended for use in children under age two, who contract the most serious infections from this bacteria.
The new PCV vaccine (Prevnar) protects against the organism Streptococcus pneumoniae (also known as pneumococcus), the leading cause of PNEUMONIA, SINUSITIS, EAR INFECTION, and MENINGITIS. It has been added to the recommended schedule of childhood immunizations. It is given to infants as a series of four inoculations administered at age two, four, six, and 12 to 15 months of age. If a child cannot begin the vaccine at two months, parents should discuss alternative schedules with their doctor.
Prevnar is the first pneumococcal vaccine for children under the age of two that targets the most common seven strains of pneumococcus causing 80 percent of invasive disease in infants. For the first time, doctors have a highly effective way to prevent a major cause of meningitis and serious blood infections in the most susceptible children— those under age two. Pneumococcal infections cause about 1,400 cases of meningitis, 17,000 cases of bloodstream infections, and 71,000 cases of pneumonia every year in children under age five.
Children under the age of two are at highest risk for infection. In up to half the cases of meningitis, brain damage and hearing loss occur and about 10 percent die. There are different types of bacterial meningitis. Before the approval of the first Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB) conjugate vaccine in 1990 for infants, HIB was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but today Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis.
Side effects in the trials were generally mild and included local injection site reactions, irritability, drowsiness, and decreased appetite. Approximately 21 percent of the children had fevers over 100.3°F.
The new PCV vaccine (Prevnar) protects against the organism Streptococcus pneumoniae (also known as pneumococcus), the leading cause of PNEUMONIA, SINUSITIS, EAR INFECTION, and MENINGITIS. It has been added to the recommended schedule of childhood immunizations. It is given to infants as a series of four inoculations administered at age two, four, six, and 12 to 15 months of age. If a child cannot begin the vaccine at two months, parents should discuss alternative schedules with their doctor.
Prevnar is the first pneumococcal vaccine for children under the age of two that targets the most common seven strains of pneumococcus causing 80 percent of invasive disease in infants. For the first time, doctors have a highly effective way to prevent a major cause of meningitis and serious blood infections in the most susceptible children— those under age two. Pneumococcal infections cause about 1,400 cases of meningitis, 17,000 cases of bloodstream infections, and 71,000 cases of pneumonia every year in children under age five.
Children under the age of two are at highest risk for infection. In up to half the cases of meningitis, brain damage and hearing loss occur and about 10 percent die. There are different types of bacterial meningitis. Before the approval of the first Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB) conjugate vaccine in 1990 for infants, HIB was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but today Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis.
Side effects in the trials were generally mild and included local injection site reactions, irritability, drowsiness, and decreased appetite. Approximately 21 percent of the children had fevers over 100.3°F.
Tags: brain damage, EAR INFECTION, infants and toddlers, Meningitis, PCV, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, pneumococcus, Pneumonia, prevent invasive pneumococcal diseases, sinusitis, Streptococcus pneumoniae
Posted in Health and Wellness
Comments (1)
great news..