Originally published June 26 2005
CDC recommending children get immunized against spinal meningitis
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Centers for Disease Control, along with some Utah-area doctors, recommends that children around ages 11 and 12 get immunized for spinal meningitis, the Standard-Examiner reports, but that most everyone else should consult their doctor about whether they should be vaccinated.
Local doctors are not hesitating in advising young patients to be vaccinated for meningitis.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a recommendation that all children between the ages of 11 and 12 be vaccinated for meningitis.
The recommendation -- also coming from the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Family Physicians -- is designed to vaccinate those at highest risk for meningococcal disease, a deadly bacterial form of the disease.
College students living in dorms and military personnel are also encouraged to get the vaccination.
Allred said meningitis comes in many strains, both viral and bacterial.
However, meningococcal meningitis is a horribly devastating disease that can kill a healthy person within hours.
The disease, which is an infection of the spinal cord and brain coverings, usually begins with symptoms that can be mistaken for a common illness, such as the flu.
Those carriers may never get sick, but they can transmit the infection to others.
"I have seen three children die, all under the age of 2, and unfortunately we can't give them the vaccine because it won't stimulate their immune system.
Eleven- to 18-year-olds have the highest mortality rates after infants."
Dr. Brent Williams, a family physician at Intermountain Health Care, said bacterial meningitis strikes approximately 3,000 people per year and added that the new vaccine will certainly save lives.
The side effects consist of local injection-site inflammation, mild headache and slight fever.
Some of the consequences include hearing loss, organ damage, limb amputation or brain damage, Williams said.
Dr. Jay Yates, a family physician at the Tanner Clinic in Layton, said he wouldn't mess around waiting to get the vaccine.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml