sanofi pasteur
 
Menactra® - Meningococcal (Groups A,C,Y and W-135) Polysaccharide Diptheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine
Safety Information | Prescribing Information
Canadian visitors please visit
menactra.ca
 

Patient Resource Center

Product Image

Disease Information

What is meningococcal disease (also known as meningitis)?

Meningococcal disease is a rare (about 1400 to 2800 cases are reported in the United States each year), but potentially fatal bacterial infection that can cause meningitis–severe swelling of the brain and spinal cord or meningococcemia (also called sepsis)–a serious blood infection. Meningococcal disease is caused by a bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis.1

Viral Meningitis: Another form of meningitis is caused by a virus. Viral meningitis is serious, but usually not life-threatening. Most patients with viral meningitis get better on their own in 7 to 10 days.

Back to top

Who gets meningococcal disease?

Even people who are usually healthy can get meningitis. However, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown that following early childhood, the risk of getting meningococcal disease increases again in early adolescence and peaks between 15–24 years of age.2,3

Back to top

How does a person catch meningococcal disease?

A person can catch it by having close personal contact with a person who is sick with the disease. There are also people who can carry the bacteria in their nose and throat but never become sick. Contact with these carriers can also cause someone to become sick with meningococcal disease.4

The bacteria is spread through the exchange of fluids found in the respiratory system (such as nose mucus) and throat (such as saliva or "spit"), usually through close, personal contact with someone who carries the bacteria or is ill with meningococcal infection.

Experts believe that some behaviors may put people at greater risk for getting meningococcal disease. These behaviors include:1,4-6

  • Living in close quarters, such as college dormitories
  • Being in crowded situations for prolonged periods of time
  • Sharing drinking glasses, water bottles, or eating utensils
  • Kissing
  • Smoking or being exposed to smoke
  • Activities that make people run-down and may weaken the immune system, such as staying out late and having irregular
    sleeping patterns.
Back to top

What are the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease?

Knowing the warning signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease is critical and potentially lifesaving. Symptoms include:4

  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Stiff neck
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Upset stomach
  • Vomiting
  • Light sensitivity
  • Rash of small purplish black-red dots

Remember: Time is critical when it comes to treating meningococcal disease. SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY if you or someone you know has a fever and other symptoms of meningococcal disease.

Back to top

Why is meningococcal disease so dangerous?

Meningococcal disease is very dangerous because it often begins with symptoms that look like other common viral illnesses such as the flu. Unlike more common infections, however, meningococcal disease can get worse very rapidly. And even with the best treatment, it can kill an otherwise healthy young person in 48 hours or less.4,7

In fact, death rates from meningococcal disease are up to 5 times higher among adolescents and young adults (15 to 24 years old) compared with younger populations.1,8

Of those who survive, 1 in 5 will suffer from permanent disabilities as a result of the severe swelling in the brain and spinal cord, and sepsis (also known as blood poisoning). These permanent disabilities can include:1,2,7,9

  • Amputation of limbs, fingers, or toes
  • Severe scarring
  • Brain damage
  • Hearing loss
  • Kidney damage
  • Emotional and psychological problems including anxiety, depression, difficulty working, and more

The lasting effects of meningococcal disease can change a person's life forever. That's why it's so important to protect people from this potentially devastating illness.

Back to top

Can meningococcal disease be prevented?

While there isn’t a way to be 100 percent protected, you can help reduce the risk of getting meningococcal disease by avoiding the behaviors that spread it. There is also a vaccination that can help prevent it.

Menactra vaccine is given to persons 11 through 55 years of age for active immunization against invasive meningococcal disease caused by N meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135. Menactra vaccine will not stimulate protection against infection caused by N meningitidis other than serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135.

There are risks associated with all vaccines. Side effects to Menactra vaccine include injection site pain, redness, and swelling; headache or fatigue. Other side effects may occur. Vaccination should be avoided by persons with known hypersensitivity (severe allergic reaction) to any component of the vaccine, including latex (which is used in the viral stopper), or by any persons previously diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. As with any vaccine, vaccination with Menactra vaccine may not protect 100% of individuals.

For more information about Menactra vaccine, talk to your health-care professional.

Although meningococcal disease is serious and potentially life-threatening, the majority of cases in adolescents and young adults are potentially vaccine-preventable.3,5,10

Back to top

How is meningitis treated?

A person with meningococcal disease needs to be seen by a health-care professional immediately. If doctors suspect that a person has meningococcal disease, they will give that person strong antibiotic medicine through an intravenous (IV) tube straight into their bloodstream.1,4

Back to top

References:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prevention and control of meningococcal disease and Meningococcal disease and college students: recommendations of the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR. 2005;54(RR-7):1-21.
2. CDC. Summary of notifiable diseases–United States, 1996–2004. MMWR. 1997;45(53):10; 1998;46(54):10; 1999;47(53):12; 2001;48(53):12; 2002;49(53):12; 2003;50(53):15; 2004;51(53):28; 2005;52(54):27; 2006;53(53):30; 2007;54(53):32.
3. Harrison LH, Pass MA, Mendelsohn AB, et al. Invasive meningococcal disease in adolescents and young adults. JAMA. 2001;286:694-699.
4. Granoff DM, Feavers IM, Borrow R. Meningococcal vaccines. In: Plotkin SA, Orenstein WA eds. Vaccines. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Inc.; 2003:959-987.
5. Rosenstein NE, Perkins BA, Stephens DS, et al. The changing epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the United States, 1992-1996. J Infect Dis. 1999;180:1894-1901.
6. Fischer M, Hedberg K, Cardosi P, et al. Tobacco smoke as a risk factor for meningococcal disease. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1997;16:979-983.
7. Erickson L, De Wals P. Complications and sequelae of meningococcal disease in Quebec, Canada, 1990-1994. Clin Infect Dis. 1998;26:1159-1164.
8. CDC. Deaths: final data for 1996–2003. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 1998;47:51; 1999;47:52; 2000;48:51; 2001;49:27; 2002;50:28; 2003;52:30; 2004;53:29; 2006;54:30.
9. Erickson LJ, De Wals P, McMahon J, Heim S. Complications of meningococcal disease in college students. Clin Infect Dis. 2001;33:737-739.
10. Bruce MG, Rosenstein NE, Capparella JM, et al. Risk factors for meningococcal disease in college students. JAMA. 2001;286:688-693.