POTENTIAL AND VALUES WITH NEW VACCINES
~ Meningococcal Disease
Is Especially Prevalent in Infants Under the Age of
Two and Is One of the Leading Causes of Preventable
Infant Death in the U.S. ~
May 2011
(Washington, DC, May 2011)
- Meningococcal disease is a leading cause of bacterial
meningitis, an infection of the membrane around the
brain and spinal cord, and sepsis, a life-threatening
bloodstream infection. Each year, meningococcal disease
strikes about 1,000 to 2,600 people in the U.S., killing
as many as one in seven people who contract it.
Of those who survive, one
is six will suffer limb amputation, paralysis, seizure,
stroke, hearing loss, blindness, organ damage, severe
scarring or brain damage. The disease progresses rapidly
and aggressively and can kill in as few as four hours
from the first symptoms, making it a very difficult
disease to diagnose and treat. There are more deaths
from meningococcal disease each year than there are
from pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella and rotavirus
disease - all infections for which infants currently
receive vaccinations.
On May 25, 2011 in Washington,
D.C., there are national and regional engagement meetings
designed to delve into some important public policy
questions related to vaccines - specifically, how can
or should Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP) and the CDC try to incorporate values about things
like disease severity, the rarity of disease, the costs
and the cost effectiveness associated with a vaccine
when it comes to making recommendations related to newly
licensed childhood vaccines?
Frankie Milley, a Texas native
and the mother of an only child, Ryan Milley, who died
from a vaccine-preventable form of meningococcal meningitis
when he was a teenager will take part in that discussion.
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