Without them, we will see even more outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis and kids will continue to die of rabies, tetanus, and other now vaccine-preventable diseases.
A diphtheria cemetery in Wyoming.
Isolation hospitals and pest houses were commonly used to quarantine folks with smallpox and other now vaccine-preventable diseases.
Even mild smallpox, as depicted on this WHO Smallpox Recognition Card, included flu like symptoms, a few weeks of pustules, and then waiting for the lesions to scab over…
People continued to die of smallpox well into the 20th century, even though an effective vaccine was developed in 1796.
Outbreaks of polio would once isolate entire towns, as parents feared their kids would get sick too.
When was the last time you saw a child with polio?
Before wide use of the Hib and Prevnar vaccines, younger infants with fever would routinely need spinal taps and you would hope for clear fluid (cloudy fluid could be a sign of a Hib or Strep pneumo infection).
In the pre-vaccine era, Hib caused epiglottitis, meningitis, and pneumonia – all life-threatening diseases that are now prevented by the Hib vaccine.
Before the 1990s, when the Hib vaccine available, hospitals had an epiglottitis team on call and always available.
In 1885, several boys from Newark went all of the way to Paris to get Pasteur’s new rabies vaccine, as the disease had always been fatal up until that time.
Even if they survive, kids can lose fingers, toes, or even arms and legs to meningococcemia.
Roald Dahl’s daughter died of measles in 1962, the year before the development of the first measles vaccine.
Nationwide, at least 123 people died in the United States during large measles epidemics from 1989 to 1991, a time when we had good sanitation, nutrition, and medical care, but some folks weren’t vaccinated and we weren’t yet giving a second dose of MMR.
A papilloma caused by HPV on the vocal cords of a child with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. (CC BY 4.0)
You don’t have to go back to the pre-vaccine era to know that pertussis kills. Ten infants died in 2010 in California from pertussis infections.
We should know that vaccine-preventable diseases were rarely mild, natural immunity comes at a cost, and that those who died from smallpox, diphtheria, measles, and polio aren’t around to talk about their experiences on Facebook (survivorship bias).
We should never forget that vaccine-preventable diseases were once big killers, and the only reason some folks have grown to fear the side effects of vaccines more than the diseases they prevent, is because we don’t see those diseases very much any more. If more people skip or delay getting vaccinated, we will though.
As more people are vaccinated and diseases disappear, they forget how bad those diseases are, skip or delay getting their vaccines, and trigger outbreaks. Photo by WHO
Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases belong in the past.
What to Know About Life Before Vaccines
Forgetting the pre-vaccine era and the benefits of vaccines makes folks susceptible to anti-vaccine talking points and scares them away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.
Meningitis is classically defined as an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.
Infections that can cause meningitis include:
viruses – also called aseptic meningitis, it can be caused by enteroviruses, measles, mumps, and herpes, etc.
bacteria – Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Listeria monocytogenes, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Group B strep
a fungus – Cryptococcus, Histoplasma
parasites – uncommon
amebas – Naegleria fowleri
There are even non-infectious causes of meningitis, including the side-effects of medications and certain systemic illnesses.
Meningitis Vaccines
Teens and young adults need two different kinds of meningococcal vaccines to get full protection.
Fortunately, many of these diseases that cause meningitis are vaccine-preventable.
You don’t often think about them in this way, but all of the following vaccines are available to prevent meningitis, including:
Hib – the Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria was a common cause of meningitis in the pre-vaccine era, in addition to causing epiglottitis and pneumonia
Prevnar – you mean it’s not just an ear infection vaccine?
Bexsero and Trumenba – serogroup B meningococcal vaccines
But just because your child has been vaccinated doesn’t mean that you are in the clear if they are exposed to someone with meningitis. They might still need preventative antibiotics if they are exposed to someone with Hib or meningococcal meningitis.
Still, getting fully vaccinated on time is the best way to prevent many of these types of meningitis and other life-threatening diseases.
What to Know About Meningitis Vaccines
Learn which vaccines are available to provide protection against bacterial and viral meningitis.
Meningitis is classically defined as an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, and it can be caused by:
viruses – also called aseptic meningitis, it can be caused by enteroviruses, measles, mumps, and herpes, etc.
bacteria – Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Listeria monocytogenes, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Group B strep
a fungus – Cryptococcus, Histoplasma
parasites – uncommon
amebas – Naegleria fowleri
Surprisingly, there are even non-infectious causes of meningitis. These might be include side-effects of a medication or that the child’s meningitis is a part of another systemic illness.
What to Do If Your Child Is Exposed to Meningitis
While meningitis can be contagious, it greatly depends on the type of meningitis to which they are exposed as to whether or not your child is at any risk.
Teens and young adults need two different kinds of meningococcal vaccines to get full protection.
So while the general advice is to “tell your doctor if you think you have been exposed to someone with meningitis,” you should try and gather as much information as you can about the exposure.
This information will hopefully include the type of meningitis they were exposed to, specifically if it was bacterial or viral, the exact organism if it has been identified, and how close of an exposure it was – were they simply in the same school or actually sitting next to each other in the same room.
For example, while the CDC states that “people who are close contacts of a person with meningococcal or Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis are at increased risk of getting infected and may need preventive antibiotics,” they also state that “close contacts of a person with meningitis caused by other bacteria, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, do not need antibiotics.”
And you often don’t need to take any preventive measures if you are exposed to someone with viral meningitis.
While that might sound scary, it is basically because you typically aren’t at big risk after this kind of exposure. You could get the same virus, but the chances that it would spread and also cause meningitis are very unlikely.
The Naegleria fowleri ameba that can cause meningitis can be found in warm freshwater, including lakes and rivers.
Other types of meningitis, like primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) and fungal and parasitic meningitis aren’t even contagious.
The Histoplasma fungus spreads from bird or bat droppings, for example, not from one person to another.
And parasites typically spread from ingesting raw or undercooked food, or in the case of Baylisascaris procyonis, from ingesting something contaminated with infectious parasite eggs in raccoon feces.
What to Do If Your Unvaccinated Child Is Exposed to Meningitis
Vaccines can prevent a number of different types of meningitis.
While these meningitis vaccines don’t protect us from all of the different types of viruses, bacteria, and other organisms that can cause meningitis, they do prevent many of the most common.
You should immediately call your pediatrician or local healthy department, because they might need:
antibiotics (usually rifampin, ciprofloxacin, or ceftriaxone) if the meningitis was caused by Neisseria meningitidis
antibiotics (rifampin) if the meningitis was caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
The availability of these antibiotics isn’t a good reason to skip or delay getting vaccinated though, as you won’t always know when your kids have been exposed to meningitis and not all types of vaccine-preventable meningitis can be prevented with antibiotics.
Of course, getting fully vaccinated on time is the best way to prevent many of these types of meningitis and other life-threatening diseases.
What to Do If Your Vaccinated Child Is Exposed to Meningitis
Even if your child is vaccinated, they might still need preventative antibiotics if they are exposed to someone with Hib or meningococcal meningitis, as vaccines are not 100% effective.
“Regardless of immunization status, close contacts of all people with invasive meningococcal disease , whether endemic or in an outbreak situation, are at high risk of infection and should receive chemoprophylaxis.”
AAP Red Book on Meningococcal Infections
This is especially true if they are not fully vaccinated.
Remember, to be fully vaccinated against Haemophilus influenzae type b, kids get a 2 or 3 dose primary series of the Hib vaccine when they are infants and a booster dose once they are 12 months old.
In the case of exposure to Hib meningitis, antibiotic prophylaxis would be recommended if:
the child is fully vaccinated, but there is a young child, under age 4 years, in the house who is unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated
the child is fully vaccinated, but there is another child in the house who is immunocompromised
the child is only partially vaccinated and under age 4 years
there is an outbreak in a preschool or daycare, with 2 or more cases within 60 days
And anyone exposed to someone with meningococcal meningitis should likely get antibiotics (chemoprophylaxis), even if they are fully vaccinated.
Talk to your pediatrician or local health department if your child is exposed to meningitis and you aren’t sure what to do, whether or not your child has been vaccinated.
What to Know About Getting Exposed to Meningitis
Learn what to do if your child is exposed to someone with meningitis, especially if they are unvaccinated, or have been exposed to someone with Hib meningitis or meningococcal disease.
