During the hot season, meningitis is a common health concern due to the increase in cases. Pneumococcus, meningococcus, and Hib are the main culprits behind this condition. However, vaccines can prevent over 90% of cases.
According to Dr. Tran Huynh Tan, Medical Manager of VNVC Vaccination System, meningitis appears sporadically all year round but becomes more prevalent during the summer months due to favorable conditions for pathogens to multiply and develop. Extreme weather can also reduce resistance, making people more susceptible to disease.
Meningitis is a severe central nervous system infection that can cause death or leave high sequelae. Bacterial groups like pneumococcus, meningococcus, and Hib have effective vaccines for prevention starting from 2-month-old children to adults. Pneumococcal meningitis has a high mortality rate and can cause severe sequelae. In Vietnam, pneumococcus is the leading cause of meningitis. The disease can progress very quickly, with a mortality rate of over 50% when not treated promptly. About 30-50% of people who recover from the disease face serious sequelae like deafness, blindness, paralysis, epilepsy, mental retardation, poor memory, and persistent headaches.
Vaccination is an active prevention measure for pneumococcal meningitis and its complications with up to 97% effectiveness. It helps reduce hospitalization rates, shorten treatment time and lower medical costs compared to non-vaccinated groups. Vaccines also aid in reducing the percentage of healthy people carrying the infection and limit the spread of pneumococcal infection in the community. Meningococcus often occurs suddenly with symptoms like fever, severe headache
