Magdalena Kedzior November 23, 2015 PCOL 571A Bexsero: The first vaccine developed using Reverse Vaccinology Meningococcal disease is a life serious and life-threatening infection that is a problem amongst children and young adults. The infection is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis which is a gram negative β proteobacterium with a distinct diplcoccus morphology. This bacteria is an obligate human bacterial pathogen that normally resides in the human nasopharynx making humans the only natural reservoir. It can also be transmitted from person to person by close contact such as kissing or the simple sharing of a beverage. In most cases the bacteria doesn’t infect the host and will rarely lead to an invasive disease but factors such as the lack of immune defenses can alter this pattern. Neisseria meningitidis is the cause of the majority of cases of meningitis in the United States with children and young adults having the most impact. The United States alone sees 800-1500 cases annually. Worldwide, there are 1.2 million cases of meningococcal infections per year with a death toll of ~135,000. The rates of disease occur most frequently in newborns and children under 1 years of age. The number of incidences will decline and peak again between the ages of 15 and 25. This disease is found worldwide and has the most impact in sub-Saharan Africa where treatment isn’t readily available. Treatment of the infection must be done right away because it is seen as a medical
Africa has the highest incidence of meningococcal disease, tuberculosis, and malaria because of overcrowding in many villages. There is an area in sub-Saharan Africa called the Meningitis Belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia with over 20,000 reported cases and 2,000 deaths every year (Healthgrades editorial staff, 2015). During the dry season in Africa, from December through June, meningitis epidemics occur with the three major areas infected being Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Chad. The most recent outbreak of the meningococcal disease reported in the United States occurred as meningitis in the dorms at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Princeton University in New Jersey in December of 2013 (Doheny, 2013). When the outbreak occurred at these two universities it was caused from serotype B of the disease and resulted in one death. Since the current meningococcal vaccine does not cover the serotype B bacteria the FDA allowed the use of a special vaccine from New Zealand to treat the outbreaks (Burrell, 2015). One in five US teens have not had their first recommended dose of meningococcal vaccine and for those who have had the first dose of the vaccine,
Neisseria meningitidis is a fastidious, aerobic, and encapsulated gram-negative diplococcus which infects humans via droplet transmission to and from mucosal surfaces in the nasopharyngeal region. Only humans can be infected with N. meningitidis and the disease manifests in children under two years of age and in young adults. N. meningitidis can be found as normal regional flora of the nasopharynx in some individuals, but when it causes infection leads to meningitis and occasionally septicaemia. The major symptoms of N. meningitidis infection include a stiff neck, high fever, photophobia, confusion, cephalgia and emesis. If the patient’s condition has worsened causing sepsis, they can present with a haemorrhagic rash which is indicative of
The aggressive treatment by the physician is necessary due to the immature immune system and the susceptibility to illness. Infections that are left
In the recent years, vaccines have been in the center of many heated debates. The main one seems to be, are they causing other illnesses in the process of eliminating others? Many parents in the last four years have started opting their children out of the required vaccines right from birth. This has lead to a rise in infectious and contagious disease outbreaks all over the United States and the rest of the world.
Joseph Albietz explicates what vaccination is and how “vaccine is safe” for people to be able to use it without having to overwhelm with startled facts about the linkages between the 2009 H1N1 epidemic and autism. John E. Calfee enlarges Albietz information by providing proof of scientific findings. The findings that Calfee provided for us was how some scientists “failed to replicate Wakefield's results and in fact had ruled out any connection between autism and any vaccine, including the MMR vaccine.” (Calfee) Karin Decoster and Richard M. Eckersley both contradict what Albietz and Calfee have to say. Decoster asserts the false interpretation of how the government is promoting flu when “no one wants the vaccination so they have to push it and advertise it.” (Decoster) Eckersley relates the vaccination leading to drug abuse in a broader environment such as having disadvantages of acquiring the vaccination shot. I approve both Albietz and Calfee because they provided with many findings and researched that makes it credible to the reader. I think that vaccination itself cures many infectious diseases, but does not relate to affecting the people and their child with Autism or any other brain development issues.
Meningitis is an infectious disease that can be found within the indigenous Australian community. Incidence and prevalence, when regarding an infectious agent or disease, utilizes measurements to determine new cases and existing cases of a disease process or infectious condition. Mathematical equations are utilized in order to determine and compare the survival or recovery, and duration of diseases ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011).The incidence and prevalence of meningitis in the indigenous Australian people, is higher in the rural areas then in the larger regions of Australia due to lack of access to vaccinations, and compliance with treatment. As noted via the meningococcal Australia INC
When the Smallpox disease made an overpopulated England its territory, it thrived and wiped out thousands of people (“Smallpox Vaccine: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”). Smallpox was a major threat to many countries and civilizations for thousands of years; however, the permanent cure for the disease began in England. During the eighteenth century, a physician by the name of Edward Jenner was credited with the invention of the most important piece of medical technology, the vaccine, and became known as the “Father of Immunology”. Although Edward Jenner encountered errors in his research, and people questioned the ethics of the vaccine trials, he used his knowledge, determination, and medical experience to explore a more efficient and advanced
It is especially common to a hospital patient with a present existence of different infection.
The discovery of vaccines prevented the spread of infectious diseases around the world. Vaccines control the spread of diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, smallpox, and the flu. In addition, vaccines increase the overall health of not only individuals, but of populations. Although these benefits prove effective on the world wide scale, the requirement of vaccinations of children to enter the public school system remains a current public health concern. Some argue that vaccines are dangerous for children and can lead to adverse effects. Others assert that the enforcement of requiring children to be vaccinated before entering schools protects the health of those attending school. These views create a challenge amongst parents who must
Treated or cured: if you do not see a doctor within 24 hours the risk of death increases. Antibiotics that stop the growth of the bacteria or kill of the bacteria.
Meningococcal Meningitis is the infection and inflammation of the meninges. Newborns and infants are at greatest risk for contracting bacterial meningitis with Neisseria meningitides being the typical pathogen in the majority of children age 2 months through 12 years (London, Ladewig, Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2011). There is a mortality rate of 10% for children who develop meningitis from this particular bacterium (Muller, 2013).
Diagnosis and treatment; Even diagnosis of the disease causing microbe is taught so as to give right drug and combat infection effectively. The identification of
As explained above, the best thing to do about this infection is to ensure that you prevent it. At least preventive measures will help to ensure that it is completely avoided.
When children are born and for the first two years of their lives, they receive multiple shots and drops of vaccines. These vaccines protect them from getting diseases that were deadly and common in children many decades ago. Vaccine is one of the greatest achievement in medicine history. There were thousands of lives lost in the battle with some of the terrifying diseases like smallpox and polio. Now, after years of vaccine invention, vaccination spread in many countries which helped in eradicate several illnesses. In the United States, each family is required to show their children's immunization chart in order to get accepted in many educational institutes. Parents usually face the decision whether to vaccinate
Meningococcal disease is a large concern in the medical field because it is unbiased towards the patients it infects. There has been limited success in trying to eliminate this disease. Antibiotics play a role in helping to treat patients with bacterial meningitis, and steroids have been tested to help reduce risk factors. Prevention has also become a key issue because meningitis can only be spread through direct contact with infected body fluid. The best prevention is to maintain clean hygiene. Vaccines are another way of preventing disease. However, there are multiple serogroups of meningitis that makes creating a universal vaccine extremely difficult. So far, there have only been two