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Disease and epidemiology PDF Print

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory infection that's caused by a virus that infects only humans.  It is transmitted by respiratory droplets and direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected persons. 

The incubation period of measles ranges between 7 and 18 days and patients are infectious from about 4 days before developing the rash until 4 days after rash. The illness is presented by high fever, generalized rash, and cough, coryza (runny nose) or conjunctivitis (red eyes).

Complications of measles include viral and bacterial pneumonias and severe diarrhoea. The disease can also lead to lifelong disabilities including brain damage, blindness and deafness.

Measles kills more children than any other vaccine-preventable disease.  Before the widespread use of vaccine, 90% of children had contracted measles by the age of 10 years. An effective vaccine has been available since the 1960s, and all countries offer measles-containing vaccine (MCV) in their immunization programmes.

Measles is highly transmissible; almost all non-immune children contract measles if exposed to infection. Poorly nourished children and those whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV/AIDS or other diseases are severely at high risk of developing measles complication and death.

Measles occurs worldwide and it is still a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality despite the existence of effective vaccine. Measles infection has its greatest incidence in children below 2 years of age in the developing countries.
 
Vaccine and vaccination PDF Print

The current available meningococcal vaccines are:

Conjugate meningococcal vaccine

Monovalent (A or C) meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningococcal group A and C disease. Monovalent C meningococcal vaccine is recommended for all children at one year of age as part of routine immunization and for people who have had meningococcal disease. Infants aged 2–11 months are given 2 doses with at least 2 months between the doses, followed by a booster dose about one year later. A single dose of monovalent A meningococcal vaccine is licensed for individuals 1–29 years of age.

Combined haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB) plus monovalent C meningococcal vaccine. It is recommended that 3 doses administered at 2, 4 and 6 months of age should be followed by a booster at 12–15 months of age.

Quadrivalent (A, C, Y and W135), which has been licensed since 2005 for use in children and adults in some countries in the world. This vaccine is initially administered as one dose only and is licensed for individuals 2–55 years of age. A two-dose series of this vaccine is licensed for use in children aged 9–23 months.

 Polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine

This is recommended for some specific risk groups and for the control of meningococcal outbreaks, and is available in different forms.

Bivalent: protects against groups A and C. This form is administered as a single dose to persons ≥ 2 years old, which provides protection for 2–3 years. A second single dose is administered for school children and adults, which provides protection for at least 3 years. After 3–5 years, one booster dose may be given to persons considered to be at continued risk of exposure including health workers.

Trivalent: protects against groups A, C and W-135

Tetravalent: protects against groups A, C, Y and W-135. This form is recommended for travelers to countries where there are epidemics of meningococcal disease (eg. sub-Saharan Africa and people travelling to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia).

These vaccines do not protect against meningococcal groups B and X. Serogroup B vaccines have been extracted from selected outbreak strains and are currently used in some countries to limit outbreaks.

The available vaccines are safe and effective. The vaccines may cause mild and infrequent side effects, such as redness and pain at the injection site lasting up to two days.

Related documents

Recommendations to assure the quality, safety and efficacy of group A meningococcal conjugate vaccines [pdf 611kb]

Recommendations for the production and control of meningococcal group C conjugate vaccine [pdf 162kb]

Recommendations for the production and control of group C meningococcal conjugate vaccine [pdf 43kb]

Clinical evaluation of group C meningococcal conjugate vaccines [pdf 996kb]

 
 
Vaccine and vaccination PDF Print

Active immunization against pertussis or whooping cough is quite effective in preventing the disease. Effective prevention is achieved through ensuring high population immunity by providing three doses of pertussis-containing vaccine to all children below one year of age. 

Pertussis vaccine is killed whole cell suspension of Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis-containing vaccine is available in different combinations with other vaccines. Pertussis vaccine is safe, effective and well tolerated. The primary series of childhood vaccination is three doses with at least four weeks' interval between each dose. 
 
Vaccine and vaccination PDF Print

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Vaccine and vaccination PDF Print

Currently there are 90 different known serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. There is no vaccine that can protect against all of them. However, two types of vaccines are available to help prevent infection with the most common strains.

Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23): this contains containing 23 serotypes of the pneumococcus, which account for 88% of pneumococcal bacteremia disease and cross-react with other types that causes additional 8% of disease.  It is licensed for persons with certain risk factors who are 2 years and older. The vaccine is not effective in children younger than 2 years and less. The vaccine is administered as a single dose which result in protection for 2-3 years.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV): 3 types of this vaccine are currently available. These include PCV 7, which contains 7 serotypes, PCV10, which includes 10 erotypes and PCV13, which contains 13serotypes of the pneumococcus serotypes.

 Currently available PCVs are safe and efficacious and the increased number of serotypes present in these vaccines, compared to the first licensed PCV7, represent significant progress in the fight against pneumococcal morbidity and mortality, in particular from a developing country perspective.

The vaccine is given to children as part of the routine vaccination schedule with the first dose of PCV given at the age of 6 weeks or 2 months (depending on the national schedule), followed by 2 doses at one to two months intervals. The third dose can be given at 12 months of age and a booster dose above one year of age can also be added. 

Both PCV7, PCV10 and PCV13 are licensed for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by the respective vaccine serotypes of S. pneumoniae in infants and children from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. In addition, PCV13 is licensed for the prevention of pneumococcal disease in adults >50 years of age.
 
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