title: Use of bacterial vaccines for prevention of pneumococcal and meningococcal disease in the day care setting.
abstract: The pneumococcus causes severe disease, including meningitis and bacteremia, in children of day care age. It is also a frequent cause of otitis media. Unfortunately, the currently available pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine has not been efficacious in children under 24 months old; research is currently underway on methods for increasing immunogenicity in young children. The meningococcus is a rare cause of meningitis in day care aged children, but children in day care are likely to be at increased risk of secondary disease if a case occurs in a center. The currently available polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine is poorly immunogenic in children younger than two and does not include the group B polysaccharide, which is responsible for 70% of disease in children younger than five years. Therefore, chemoprophylaxis with rifampin is recommended for decreasing the risk of secondary spread. When a group B meningococcal vaccine immunogenic in young children becomes available, vaccination will be indicated for all children in day care.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D016667:Bacterial Capsules; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000276:immunology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D012293:Rifampin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018805:Sepsis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; C039455:capsular polysaccharide, meningococcal group B; D012293:Rifampin