- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to MayoClinic.com in general and primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
Dr. Hoecker, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, is certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
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Question
Meningitis vaccine: Can infants get it?
My 8-month-old son may have been exposed to bacterial meningitis. He is current on all of his immunizations, including flu shots. Should he also receive the meningitis vaccine?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
A number of strains of bacteria can cause bacterial meningitis, including pneumococcus, haemophilus and meningococcus. And while there are vaccines for all three of these major bacterial causes of meningitis, there's no single meningitis vaccine that protects infants against all of these strains. Instead, several routine childhood immunizations — such as Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal — protect against many types of bacteria that can cause meningitis. So your son may not need any additional vaccines. But check with his doctor.
Bacterial meningitis is a serious, sometimes deadly, infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. By having your child immunized, you've already done the most important thing you can do to protect him against bacterial meningitis.
Though not approved for infants, two vaccines (MPSV4 and MCV4) are available for meningococcal meningitis — a common cause of bacterial meningitis. A meningococcal vaccine is routinely recommended for children at age 11. However, either of the meningococcal vaccines can be given to children as young as age 2 who are at high risk of bacterial meningitis or have been exposed to someone with the disease. An experimental meningococcal vaccine for infants is currently being studied.
If you know or suspect that your child has been exposed to bacterial meningitis, talk to your doctor as soon as possible about preventive antibiotics. Antibiotics reduce but don't eliminate the risk of developing the disease.
If your child becomes ill after exposure to bacterial meningitis — even after taking antibiotics — seek urgent medical attention. Signs and symptoms of meningitis in infants include excessive irritability or sleepiness, constant crying and poor eating.
Prompt diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis is critical to prevent serious complications of the disease.
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