A pediatric vaccine with University of Rochester roots has proven to be highly successful at reducing cases of bacterial meningitis across all age groups.That is the conclusion of a seven-year study, the results of which appeared today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"This is a very effective vaccine and a textbook example of herd immunity," said Nancy M. Bennett, M.D., M.S., professor of Medicine, director of the Center for Community Health at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and deputy director of the Monroe County Department of Public Health."Even though the vaccine is only given to infants, it has proven highly effective in reducing infections among people who don't get vaccine, as well as among those who do."
The pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which is marketed under the brand name Prevnar by Wyeth, was introduced in 2000, and a year later the CDC recommended that it be given to all children younger than 2 years. The vaccine was created using a "conjugate" vaccine platform that was developed by URMC pediatric researchers in the 1980s.The process makes a vaccine more effective by linking it to a protein that spurs an infant's immune system to fight an infection especially vigorously.
Prevnar is designed to provide immunity to 7 serotypes - or strains - of the bacteria streptococcus pneumoniae.While commonly associated with pneumonia and blood infections, pneumococcus is also the most common cause of bacterial meningitis - a potentially life threatening inflammation in the central nervous system.