World meningitis day: anti-meningococcal B vaccine in Liguria to supplement the tetravalent

Genoa. Today, Wednesday 24 April, is World Meningitis Day, established to raise awareness of this disease. Meningitis is a disease that affects the meninges, i.e. the membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord. It is a disease of infectious origin caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi or protozoa. The bacterial form can give rise to very serious forms and cause fatal consequences, particularly when meningococcal sepsis is associated with meningitis.

“It is very important – explains the Liguria Region health councilor – to make the population aware of all the information on meningitis and, in particular, on vaccinations guaranteed by the public health system. Compared to what was already foreseen in the national plan, updated in August last year, Liguria has also increased the offer of the anti-meningococcal B vaccine for adolescents since September 2023. This day is a new opportunity to explain the characteristics of meningitis in its different forms, what the risks are and, above all, to promote adherence to vaccination to reduce the number of serious forms and fatal cases”.

Currently, vaccination against meningococcus, pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type B protects against the most common forms of meningitis, especially if administered in the first years of life. The National Vaccine Prevention Plan 2023-2025, approved on 2 August 2023, provides a broad calendar of free and active offers for the various age groups: vaccines for meningococcus B, type B haemophilia are already offered in the first year of life for pneumococcus, in the second year of life and in adolescents, the quadrivalent antimeningococcal vaccine ACYW135 and, at 65 years of age, vaccination against pneumococcus, which is very important because it is able to avoid serious forms of meningitis in elderly people.

“On 25 September last year – adds Filippo Ansaldi General Director of Alisa – the new vaccination calendar for Liguria was approved, which in addition to incorporating the national calendar, further implements the regional offer, with particular reference to employment, in adolescent, of the anti-meningococcal B vaccine to integrate the tetravalent ACYW135 vaccine with the aim of offering broader protection for those meningococcal strains which, in our country, show a tendency to expand. It is known, in fact, how adolescents and young adults, in relation to their social habits, play a central role in the acquisition and transmission of meningococcus. Fortunately, in recent years there has been a progressive reduction in the incidence of meningitis in children, thanks to vaccinations. We must ensure that more and more children and more adolescents are vaccinated for meningitis to avoid the more aggressive forms.”