[Update on vaccines: 2018 recommendations]. / Actualización sobre vacunas: recomendaciones de 2018.

Beginning in 1974, the date on which the Expanded Program on Immunization was established in the Americas, the number of deaths and disabilities due to certain infectious diseases decreased considerably thanks to universally applied vaccines. A program that initially included four vaccines that protected against six diseases (tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles) was consolidated, over the years, by incorporating new vaccines and significantly raising coverage rates. The Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría (Argentine Society of Pediatrics), as a leader of opinion, played a leading role in the incorporation of new vaccines, currently reaching one of the most complete vaccination calendars in the world, which improves the levels of inequality and inequity in public health. Taking into account the significant role of the pediatrician in decision-making, the National Committee of Infectious Diseases, together with the Subsidiary Committees, prepared a document on updates and recommendations for 2018 on Polio, Rotavirus, Pneumococcus, Meningococcus, Human Papillomavirus, Chickenpox, Flu, Dengue vaccines and Whooping Cough.

A partir del año 1974, cuando se estableció el Programa Ampliado de Inmunizaciones en las Américas, la cantidad de muertes y discapacidades por enfermedades infecciosas disminuyó de manera considerable gracias a las vacunas aplicadas. Inicialmente, se incluyeron cuatro vacunas que protegían contra seis enfermedades (tuberculosis, difteria, coqueluche, tétanos, polio y sarampión), y, a través de los años, al incorporar nuevas vacunas, aumentaron considerablemente las tasas de cobertura. La Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría tuvo un rol destacado en la incorporación de nuevas vacunas y, en la actualidad, hay uno de los calendarios de vacunación más completos del mundo, lo que permite mejorar los niveles de desigualdad e inequidad en salud pública. Teniendo en cuenta el rol que tiene el pediatra en la toma de decisiones, el Comité Nacional de Infectología, junto con comités de filiales, elaboró un documento sobre actualizaciones y recomendaciones de 2018 acerca de polio, rotavirus, neumococo, meningococo, virus del papiloma humano, varicela, gripe, dengue y coqueluche.

Meningococcal carriage within households in the African meningitis belt: A longitudinal pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Carriers of Neisseria meningitidis are a key source of transmission. In the African meningitis belt, where risk of meningococcal disease is highest, a greater understanding of meningococcal carriage dynamics is needed. METHODS: We randomly selected an age-stratified sample of 400 residents from 116 households in Bamako, Mali, and collected pharyngeal swabs in May 2010. A month later, we enrolled all 202 residents of 20 of these households (6 with known carriers) and collected swabs monthly for 6 months prior to MenAfriVac vaccine introduction and returned 10 months later to collect swabs monthly for 3 months. We used standard bacteriological methods to identify N. meningitidis carriers and fit hidden Markov models to assess acquisition and clearance overall and by sex and age. RESULTS: During the cross-sectional study 5.0% of individuals (20/400) were carriers. During the longitudinal study, 73 carriage events were identified from 1422 swabs analyzed, and 16.3% of individuals (33/202) were identified as carriers at least once. The majority of isolates were non-groupable; no serogroup A carriers were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the duration of carriage with any N. meningitidis averages 2.9 months and that males and children acquire and lose carriage more frequently in an urban setting in Mali. Our study informed the design of a larger study implemented in seven countries of the African meningitis belt.

Background Paper for the update of meningococcal vaccination recommendations in Germany: use of the serogroup B vaccine in persons at increased risk for meningococcal disease.

In December 2013 Bexsero® became available in Germany for vaccination against serogroup B meningococci (MenB). In August 2015 the German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) endorsed a recommendation for use of this vaccine in persons at increased risk of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). This background paper summarizes the evidence underlying the recommendation. Bexsero® is based on surface protein antigens expressed by about 80% of circulating serogroup B meningococci in Germany. The paper reviews available data on immunogenicity and safety of Bexsero® in healthy children and adolescents; data in persons with underlying illness and on the effectiveness in preventing clinical outcomes are thus far unavailable.STIKO recommends MenB vaccination for the following persons based on an individual risk assessment: (1) Persons with congenital or acquired immune deficiency or suppression. Among these, persons with terminal complement defects and properdin deficiency, including those under eculizumab therapy, are at highest risk with reported invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) incidences up 10,000-fold higher than in the general population. Persons with asplenia were estimated to have a ~ 20-30-fold increased risk of IMD, while the risk in individuals with other immune defects such as HIV infection or hypogammaglobulinaemia was estimated at no more than 5-10-fold higher than the background risk. (2) Laboratory staff with a risk of exposure to N. meningitidis aerosols, for whom an up to 271-fold increased risk for IMD has been reported. (3) Unvaccinated household (-like) contacts of a MenB IMD index case, who have a roughly 100-200-fold increased IMD risk in the year after the contact despite chemoprophylaxis. Because the risk is highest in the first 3 months and full protective immunity requires more than one dose (particularly in infants and toddlers), MenB vaccine should be administered as soon as possible following identification of the serogroup of the index case.

Aspectos epidemiológicos da doença meningocócica no Distrito Federal, 2000 a 2011 / Epidemiological aspects of meningococcal disease in the Distrito Federal from 2000 to 2011

Objetivos: Analisar o comportamento da doença meningocócica (DM) no Distrito Federal (DF), no período de 2000 a 2011, investigar fatores associados à gravidade da doença e avaliar o impacto da introdução, em 2010, da vacina conjugada contra o meningococo C. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo com um componente descritivo e outro analítico, abrangendo os residentes no DF que apresentaram DM. Foram incluídos os casos confirmados de DM registrados nos sistemas de informação de notificação e/ou de mortalidade e/ou do laboratório. Para a investigação de fatores associados ao óbito por DM, a variável dependente foi evolução e as variáveis independentes foram sexo, idade, forma clínica e sorogrupo da Neisseria meningitidis. Na avaliação do impacto da introdução da vacina conjugada contra o meningococo C, foram comparadas as taxas de incidência do período pré e pósvacina, por grupo etário. Resultados: Foram analisados 490 casos confirmados de DM no período. A cepa que predominou antes de 2005 foi a B:4,7:P1.19,15 com 67,8 por cento (61/90) e, a partir desse ano, predominaram as cepas C:23:P1.14-6 com 40,9 por cento (61/149) e C:2a:P1.5,2 com 12,8 por cento (19/149). As taxas médias anuais de incidência e de mortalidade por DM, no período, foram, respectivamente, 1,7 e 0,4/100.000 habitantes/ano e a letalidade média foi 21 por cento . A taxa de incidência de DM foi maior nas crianças menores de um ano, variando de 13,1 em 2011 a 38,7/100.000 habitantes/ano em 2000. A letalidade foi maior no grupo de 40 anos e mais, 40 por cento , e entre as crianças com dois anos, 32 por cento . A região administrativa (RA) do Paranoá foi a que apresentou as mais elevadas taxas médias anuais de incidência, 3,3/100.000 habitantes, e de mortalidade, 0,6/100.000 habitantes. Os menores de dois anos e os com idade maior ou igual a 30 anos tiveram risco significativamente maior para óbito, assim como as formas clínicas meningococcemia e meningite com meningococcemia. Houve uma redução estatisticamente significativa (p = 0,02) da incidência de DM em menores de dois anos do ano de 2009, 21,3/100.000 habitantes/ano, para o ano de 2011, 6,6/100.000 habitantes/ano. Conclusão: Esse estudo possibilitou verificar os grupos etários mais atingidos por DM, os fenótipos circulantes, as RA com as maiores taxas de incidência e de mortalidade e fazer uma avaliação preliminar do impacto da vacina conjugada contra o sorogrupo C, após o primeiro ano de sua introdução no calendário infantil de imunização.

Modifiable risk factors for invasive meningococcal disease during an Edmonton, Alberta outbreak, 1999-2002.

BACKGROUND: An outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in metro Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between December 1999 and June 2002 resulted in 84 laboratory-confirmed cases. Most cases were infected with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C, and the highest age-specific incidence was observed in the 15-19 year age group. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to identify modifiable IMD risk factors among outbreak cases. Two controls were matched to each case on age and sex, and were recruited through random-digit dialing. A questionnaire was telephone-administered to 132 study participants (44 cases, 88 controls). Conditional logistic regression was utilized to calculate risk measures. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed three statistically significant risk factors: bar patronage (OR 35.2; 95% CI: 2.64-468), "rave" attendance (OR 12.8; 95% CI: 1.47-111) and maternal smoking (OR 8.88; 95% CI: 1.67-47.4). Humidifier use in the home was protective (OR 0.07; 95% CI: 0.009-0.64). CONCLUSION: While the precision of risk estimates was low in the multivariate model, this study has identified rave attendance as an emergent IMD risk factor.

Update on adolescent immunization: pertussis, meningococcus, HPV, and the future.

Since January 2005, new vaccines against pertussis, meningococcal disease, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection have been licensed. The target recipients are adolescents and preadolescents, who are at higher risk of these infections than other age groups. Routinely scheduled visits for 11- to 12-year-olds will allow for immunization against these and other diseases and give us an opportunity to provide anticipatory guidance against high-risk behaviors.

Is it exposure to cigarette smoke or to smokers which increases the risk of meningococcal disease in teenagers?

BACKGROUND: Passive smoking appears to increase the risk of meningococcal disease (MD) in adolescents. Whether this effect is attributable to exposure to cigarette smoke or contact with smokers is unknown. METHODS: We conducted a prospective population-based case-control study with age, sex matched-controls in 1:1 matching. Participants were 15-19 year old with MD recruited at hospital admission in six regions (65% of the population of England) from January 1999 through June 2000, and their matched controls. Data on potential risk factors were gathered by confidential interview, including seven passive smoking variables. Factor analysis was performed to assess the dimensionality of the passive smoking exposure variables. The data were analysed with univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: 144 case-control pairs were recruited (51% male; median age 17.6). Factor analysis identified two independent factors representing passive smoking (P < 0.01), one associated with 'exposure to smoke', the other with 'smoker contact'. Only smoker contact was a significant risk factor for MD (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.0-3.3; P = 0.05). In multivariate analysis this factor was still associated with MD independently of potential confounders such as active smoker status and household crowding. CONCLUSION: Contact with smokers is associated with increased risk of MD in adolescents. This is more likely to be due to higher carriage rates in smokers than to exposure to smoke and emphasizes the importance of public health measures to stop smoking. In epidemiological studies that assess risk from passive smoking, exposure to smoke should be differentiated where possible from contact with smokers.

Changing carriage rate of Neisseria meningitidis among university students during the first week of term: cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rates of, and risk factors for, meningococcal carriage and acquisition among university students. DESIGN: Repeated cross sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 2,507 students in their first year at university. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of carriage of meningococci and risk factors for carriage and acquisition of meningococci. RESULTS: Carriage rates for meningoccoci increased rapidly in the first week of term from 6.9% on day 1, to 11.2% on day 2, to 19.0% on day 3, and to 23.1% on day 4. The average carriage rate during the first week of term in October among students living in catered halls was 13.9%. By November this had risen to 31.0% and in December it had reached 34. 2%. Independent associations for acquisition of meningococci in the autumn term were frequency of visits to a hall bar (5-7 visits: odds ratio 2.7, 95% confidence interval 1.5 to 4.8), active smoking (1.6, 1.0 to 2.6), being male (1.6, 1.2 to 2.2), visits to night clubs (1. 3, 1.0 to 1.6), and intimate kissing (1.4, 1.0 to 1.8). Lower rates of acquisition were found in female only halls (0.5, 0.3 to 0.9). The most commonly acquired meningococcal strain was C2a P1.5 (P1.2), which has been implicated in clusters of invasive meningococcal disease at other UK universities. CONCLUSIONS: Carriage rates of meningococci among university students increase rapidly in the first week of term, with further increases during the term. The rapid rate of acquisition may explain the increased risk of invasive meningococcal disease and the timing of cases and outbreaks in university students.

[Factors affecting the occurrence and development of invasive meningococcal disease and development of Neisseria meningitis carrier state--results of a nationwide prospective questionnaire survey of cases and controls]. / Faktory ovlivnující vznik a vývoj invazivního meningokokového onemocnení a vznik nosicství Neisseria meningitidis--výsledky celorepublikové prospektivní dotazníkové studie prípadu a kontrol.

The nationwide prospective questionnaire study of cases and controls was implemented during the period from October 1996 till May 1998. Thirty-nine districts participated (= 54.2% of district hygiene stations) and 107 invasive meningococcal diseases were included in the study (= 76.9% of diseases recorded during the given period in the Czech Republic by active surveillance). A total of 390 subjects were included in the study-107 with invasive meningococcal diseases, 211 healthy controls and 72 healthy carriers of Neisseria meningitidis. This is the first study in the Czech Republic which analyzes comprehensively socioeconomic, health and stress factors in relation to the genesis and development of invasive meningococcal disease or carriership of N. meningitidis. The relationship between these factors and meningococcal disease or carriership was evaluated by the chi square test: odds ratio (OR) and statistical significance (p for chi square-Yates correction or Fischer's exact test). For the development of invasive meningococcal disease in particular, risk factors are significant (p < 0.05) which at the time weaken the overall resistance of the organism: febrile diseases, respiratory diseases, other diseases, exertion, exposure to cold, mental stress, other stress, injury, staying in places outside the home on brigades, training courses, stay in crowded premises. As to long-term factors the development of the disease is influenced by a contaminated environment, passive smoking and lower education of the mother which indicates a different lifestyle. Conversely, factors negatively correlated with the development of the disease are active participation in sports and favourable economic conditions. For death: significant risk factors (p < 0.05) are also factors which weaken the resistance of the organism: exertion, mental stress, other stress (= alcohol consumption), staying outside the home on brigades, training courses etc. For carriership risk factors are significant (p < 0.05) when the mucosal membranes of the upper airways are impaired (staying in a dusty environment, in smoke-filled rooms, contaminated atmosphere, active smoking, passive smoking) and factors where contact with other people is frequent (overcrowded rooms, multi-generation housing, use of public transport, staying outside the home on brigades, training courses etc.). A risk factor is also lower education of parents which indicates a different lifestyle. Conversely, factors negatively correlated with carriership are favourable economic conditions, frequent outdoor stay and active participation in sports. By comparison of factors significantly associated with the development of invasive meningococcal disease or carriership data are assembled for the implementation of effective preventive measures.

Risk factors for Neisseria meningitidis carriage in a school during a community outbreak of meningococcal infection.

As part of the management of an outbreak of meningococcal infection, 119 school contacts of an index case were swabbed for nasopharyngeal carriage. In a cohort study, risk factors for Neisseria meningitidis carriage were ascertained by means of a questionnaire, completed by 114 (96%) of those swabbed. Twenty five (21%) cultures were identified as "neisseria positive'; of which there were 18 (15%) Neisseria meningitidis isolates, 2 (2%) Neisseria lactamica isolates and 5 (4%) showed contaminants only. Two (2%) carriers were identified as harbouring the implicated outbreak strain. Single variable analysis identified six statistically significant risk factors for meningococcal carriage; increasing age, female sex, manual social class, personal smoking, regular attendance at a discotheque and rhinorrhoea. Multivariate analysis, using logistic regression modelling, found that of these six variables only age, sex and social class remained statistically significant when the other factors were controlled for. Nevertheless the role of smoking, social events and respiratory/viral infections in nasopharyngeal carriage, and other plausible mechanisms whereby age, sex and social class might exert their effect, could usefully be investigated further.

Doença Meningocócica no município de Säo Paulo, no período de 1979 a 1993: endemia e epidemia / Meningococcal disease in Säo Paulo, SP - Brazil, from 1979 to 1993: endemic and epidemiological disease

Apresenta estudo epidemiológico descritivo da doença meningocócica (DM) em que foram analisados 4698 casos ocorridos entre 1979 e 1993, em residentes no Município de Säo Paulo. Analisa as fichas de investigaçäo epidemiológica das meningites e os dados consolidados dos casos de DM, disponíveis no Centro de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Säo Paulo, e arquivos da Seçäo de Bacteriologia do Instituto Adolfo Lutz, em três períodos distintos: o endêmico de 1979 a 1982, o de 1983 a 1987, no qual se observou crescimento do número de casos de DM, e o período epidêmico, de 1988 a 1993

Smoking, the environment and meningococcal disease: a case control study.

This case control study investigated environmental factors in 74 confirmed cases of meningococcal disease (MD). In children aged under 5, passive smoking in the home (30 or more cigarettes daily) was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 7.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-38.66). ORs increased both with the numbers of cigarettes smoked and with the number of smokers in the household, suggesting a dose-response relationship. MD in this age group was also significantly associated with household overcrowding (more than 1.5 persons per room) (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.10-32.8), with kisses on the mouth with 4 or more contacts in the previous 2 weeks (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.09-5.56), with exposure to dust from plaster, brick or stone in the previous 2 weeks (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.07-4.65); and with changes in residence (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.0-8.99), marital arguments (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.26-7.17) and legal disputes in the previous 6 months (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.24-7.78). These associations were independent of social class. Public health measures to lower the prevalence of cigarette smoking by parents of young children may reduce the incidence of MD. The influence of building dust and stressful life events merits further investigation.

Simulación del proceso de transmisión de la enfermedad meningocócica / Simulation of transmission process of meningococcal disease

Este estudio iniciado a partir de septiembre de 1983 permitió construir este modelo de simulación del proceso de transmisión de la enfermedad meningocócica, que ha tenido como rasgo distintivo la consideración de núcleos dentro de población. Este modelo está escrito en pascal USCD para la CID-300. Se exponen las características generales de la enfermedad meningocócica y la descripción del modelo, así como aspectos del programa para computadora y sus resultados