LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Meningitis: Vaccines
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In the past, most meningitis cases occurred in children younger than 5 years. But as a result of the protection offered by current childhood vaccines, most meningitis cases now occur in young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Older adults ... tend to have a higher incidence of meningitis than do young children.
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The introduction of conjugate vaccines against 7 serotypes of S pneumoniae has ... substantially reduced the incidence of childhood pneumococcal meningitis. In addition, the introduction of routine vaccination against meningococcus with the use of serogroup C meningococcal conjugate vaccine may reduce the incidence of N meningitidis infections. Collectively, the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis continues to evolve as preventive strategies are implemented.
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Cases of meningitis and septicaemia have fallen from about 4,000 a year in the late 1990s to 2,446 last year following the introduction of a vaccine against meningitis C in November 1999. But in a bizarre twist the number of deaths rose last year by 17 per cent from 317 to 370 and is not far below the level before the vaccine was introduced.
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There are ... vaccines for some other types of meningitis. If you have a medical condition that affects your immune system, for example, a doctor may also recommend a vaccination against the S. pneumoniae type of bacteria. But vaccines don't exist for all types of bacterial meningitis.
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The Act states that colleges are only responsible for dissemination of information on meningitis and the vaccine and documentation of immunization or declination of immunization. Colleges are not required to pay for or provide the meningitis vaccine. For more information on this Act, visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly Web site.
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In the meantime, Harrison pointed out, "Parents should ... know that there are already two vaccines to help prevent meningitis for infants -- the group at highest risk -- Hib and pneumococcal vaccine. The new vaccine would just be the third piece of the puzzle."
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