Meningitis cases have increased in Spain in the last four years. Specifically, last 2017-2018 season, a total of 372 were recorded, 27 percent more than the previous one. Of these, 142 was for meningococcus B, 48 for strain W and 37 for Y.
Those are the figures provided by David Moreno, coordinator of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP). And all this, he laments, although there are vaccines to fight all strains.
So, on the occasion of World Meningitis Day, which is celebrated today April 24, the AEP affects promoting the widespread use of vaccines and include immunization against meningococcus B and tetravalent (A, C, W, Y) in the official calendar.
In Babies and moreMeningitis: types, forms of infection and all vaccines to prevent diseaseVaccines against meningitis in Spain
The president of the Spanish Foundation of Pediatrics and member of the Executive Committee of the AEP, Teresa Hernández-Sampelayo, also emphasizes that we are in a unique moment to pay attention to the disease, "Since today there are vaccines for all strains of meningitis."
Three of them have been included in the official vaccination calendar of all the autonomous communities for years: 'haemophilus influenzae' type b, meningococcus C and pneumococcus.
In addition, in March, the Ministry of Health announced the inclusion in the calendar of childhood vaccination of the vaccine against meningococci A, C, W and Y at 12 years, instead of the monovalent vaccine against meningococcus C. And, as explained by the coordinator of the Vaccine Committee of the AEP, "it will be included gradually until in 2020 it is administered free of charge by all the Autonomous Communities."
In Babies and more, they recommend vaccinating adolescents against meningococcal meningitis Madrid joined yesterday other communities such as Castilla y León, Valencia or Andalusia, which have already begun to vaccinate teenagers or will soon.
Dr. Moreno adds that the Vaccine Committee recommends the tetravalent vaccine also a year (as Castilla y León already does), to protect children who are more at risk of contracting it, since "Until 80 percent of vaccination in adolescents is achieved, the group effect that benefits the entire population does not begin to function."
To achieve that efficiency as soon as possible, a rescue vaccination will be done in adolescents and young adults in all autonomous communities, for two-three years, to cover the population until 18 years of age.
And, according to the coordinator of the Committee on Vaccines, the presence of meningococcal bacteria is greater in adolescence. In fact, One in four young people under 18 have this bacterium in their throat. What's more, he adds that "The normal thing is that we all had it once, but that does not mean that we will suffer from the disease, we are only carriers, because the chances of them entering our body and developing it are very low."
Bexsero financing will have to wait
The coordinator of the Vaccine Advisory Committee reaffirms the recommendation of the AEP to include the meningococcal B vaccine in the official calendar funded by Public Health, "something that has been claiming since 2015 and now even with more arguments in favor, since the three million doses administered in the last three years in the United Kingdom, have shown that it is safe and very effective."
In Babies and more The meningitis B 'Bexsero' vaccine: everything you need to knowEven so, Teresa Hernández-Sampelayo is optimistic and believes that she will end up being included in the children's vaccination calendar of all communities, as Castilla y León or Canarias are already doing, for example.
"It is a process that takes time, but our experience is showing us that all recommendations of the Vaccine Committee end up being considered by the Administration, but it is not the same to finance it at the individual level (for each family) than at the national level. In addition, there are to ensure the availability of the vaccine. "
In fact, as Dr. Moreno explains, Last year, parents vaccinated 60-70 percent of children against meningococcus B on their own., which means that they do want to believe in this protection for their children.
"To end the inequality that can cause some families to subsidize immunization and others not, we ask for the inclusion of Bexsero in the children's calendar."Pediatricians demand more information
A survey conducted by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics to 1,400 health workers (76 percent pediatricians) and 1,245 families, has shown great ignorance of society about meningitis.
According to these data, 73 percent of the population knows the vaccine schedule proposed by the AEP, but 35 percent do not know that meningitis can be prevented.
And the results are even more worrisome in the case of health professionals: 62 percent believe that their training in vaccines against meningitis is insufficient and 70 percent, that the vaccines included in the calendar of their autonomous community for the prevention of sepsis-meningitis fall short.
In fact, 86 percent of the respondents think that the AEP should carry out more information and training actions related to meningitis, a disease that must be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible to avoid the serious consequences it can cause ( in 20 percent of cases), and even death from sepsis (in ten percent of cases, a figure that goes up to 29 percent if caused by strain W).
Dr. David Moreno explains:
"Recognizing the symptoms of meningitis is key to act as soon as possible and avoid the consequences of a disease that can have fatal consequences in a matter of hours."
In Babies and moreMeningitis in infants and children: what are the warning symptoms and how to prevent itThe expert explains that these symptoms start being similar to those of a cold: fever, headache, later vomiting ... and that are more recognizable two or three days after the disease appears, with much more fever and vomiting and stiffness in the body. It is necessary to go immediately to the emergency room, especially if spots appear on the skin, a sign that there is already sepsis or infection in the blood and that in 6-8 hours it can cause the death of the child.
'Meningitis, closing the circle' campaign.
The results of the survey have encouraged the AEP to launch an information campaign, whose launch coincides with the celebration of World Meningitis Day. His title: 'Meningitis, closing the circle. A movie that deserves to be told. '
This documentary, created by Spanish pediatricians, includes five chapters that will appear on the Internet over a year. They will address different aspects of meningitis with a positive message, and explain how to avoid the disease today. According to the president of the AEP Foundation:
"With this campaign we want to underline all that we have advanced in the prevention of meningitis thanks to information and vaccination, because all the research that has been done around this disease deserves to be counted. We want to do it without alarmism, but also without complacency, because there is still a long way to go in both lines: more information is needed in families and healthcare professionals, and also more access to vaccination. "
This is the first chapter, presented by the journalist Tania Llasera.
In addition, the AEP has joined the worldwide celebration of this disease, with an action that also aims to give it visibility. Also on this occasion, it is Tania Llasera who encourages us to take a picture by making the gesture of a closed circle with the fingers of our hands and uploading it to our social networks with the # CerrandoElCirculo or #DiaMundialMeningitis, tag @aepediatria and mention to two people to join this initiative.
A final warning from the AEP about vaccines. The president of the Foundation recalls the importance of vaccinating adolescents, and not only against meningococcus. As Dr. Teresa Hernández-Sampelayo explains:
"The coverage in the first year of a child's life is very high, but they go down with age and in adolescence the pediatric controls are no longer followed or the childhood vaccination calendar is completed, when its immunization is essential to protect young people and the rest of the population. "
Photos | iStock
