Advances in providing meningococcal disease prevention in children

On-demand recorded 22 Sep 2020

Meningococcal disease is greatly feared by parents with young children because it can be deadly or damaging with severe and difficult psychological complications.  There are particular population groups at substantial increased risk of infection, including indigenous Australians, children with immunosuppression due to absent or defective spleen or abnormalities of the complement system, in teenagers and young adults, those living in crowded circumstance, or those who partake of cigarette smoking.

After decades of development, we finally have a vaccine that is licensed for routine use and known for being both safe and effective in children. Unusually, babies being given this vaccine should first receive paracetamol as prophylaxis against fever before receiving the meningococcal vaccine injection.

The new vaccine will be paid for by the Government for Indigenous children, placing Australia as one of the few countries that are both recommending and financing the use of meningococcal vaccines in high risk children.

Learning outcomes

This event attracts 2 CPD points

Facilitator

Dr Andrew Leech
GP Host

Presenter

Professor Robert Booy
Infectious diseases specialist and paediatrician

Professor Robert Booy is an infectious diseases paediatrician. Since 2005 he has worked at the University of Sydney in the fields of vaccinology, epidemiology and infectious diseases. He is currently a Senior Professorial Fellow at the University of Sydney Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School. From 2005 to 2019 he held the position of Head of Clinical Research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) at Westmead Children's Hospital and remains an Affiliate of NCIRS.