Call For Parents To Vaccinate Babies Against Pneumococcal Meningitis

By Wan Shahara Ahmad Ghazali KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- Pneumococcal disease is a silent killer that has claimed the lives of 1.6 million children every year, worldwide. In fact, the World Health Organisation has said that pneumococcal disease is the number one killer of children under five across the world. But the sad fact is the disease is preventable with several doses of vaccine. The question is, is it fair for an adult to expose children to debilitating pain that consequently leads to death, because of their own ignorance? The complicated disease causes infection to at least one of the protective membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord, otitis media or inner ear infections, and bacterimia or bacteria in the blood. An infection from any of the 13 Streptococcus Pneumoniae bacterial strains can be fatal, or at least can result in brain damage, blindness or hearing loss. To date, the medical world has identified 90 sub-types of pneumococcal bacteria. WHY VACCINATE? If a person has been infected by one of the sub-types of bacteria, it doesn’t make him immune to other types. Therefore, patients still need to be vaccinated, even if the disease has infected them several times. Like many bacteria-caused diseases, pneumococcal disease can usually be treated with antibiotics. However, studies in the last few years have found the bacteria to be resistant to normal antibiotics. The resistance to antibiotics has made treatment more difficult and resulted in longer hospital stays for patients. This in turn leads to a jump in medical costs. The best protection against the disease is childhood vaccination with conjugate vaccines that come in 10 valent (PCV10) or 13 valent (PCV13) varieties. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is for adults. Unfortunately, the pneumococcal vaccine is not so popular among Malaysian children, thus they are continuously threatened with the risk of suffering and death, because of a lack of public awareness of the disease. Recently, pharmaceutical company Pfizer (Malaysia) held a session with parents whose children had a brush with death from the disease. Several medical experts and the media also attended the session. MENINGITIS MOST SERIOUS Among those present was the President of the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMo), Bruce Langoulant, from Perth, Australia. CoMo is a volunteer body formed in 2004 by 33 associations from 22 countries that aims to increase public awareness of meningitis. It has an excellent reputation for stressing the importance of vaccination, and has succeeded in lobbying the Australian government to fund a vaccination programme through the National Immunisation Programme. It also provides support-group services to families and assists in meningitis research. According to Langoulant, many CoMo members are parents with experience battling meningitis, some of whom have children who have become disabled because of the disease. "Bacterial meningitis is the most serious form of meningitis and can lead to infection in the blood (septisemia), which is fatal," he said, explaining Streptococcus pneumonia as the main cause of meningitis and septisemia. Other main causes are the Hemophilus influenza type B and Neisseria meningitides. COMPLICATIONS Meningitis can happen suddenly but the symptoms mimic the common cold, such as fever, fatigue and headaches. This makes it difficult for doctors to detect early infection. Although it is detectable later, even appropriate treatment is given, the death toll is still high. The long-term effects of the disease are serious and include mental and physical disabilities such as hearing loss, epilepsy and brain damage. "My daughter, Ashleigh, was infected with pneumococcal meningitis when she was six months old," said Langoulant. "Although it wasn’t fatal, Ashleigh experienced a host of health complications following the infection. "She became blind and deaf, developed cerebral palsy and seizures. Although her sight eventually returned, she will suffer throughout her life. "Children are supposed to have a universe full of potential but Ashleigh cannot walk or talk, making her dependent on someone else for the rest of her life," said Langoulant. The treatment and care for such complications are a financial burden for parents, so it is wiser for parents to spend a little on vaccination rather than bear the costs of treating an infected child. PREVENTION IS BETTER This is among the reasons why Damansara Specialist Hospital (DSH)Consultant Pediatrician Dr Musa Mohd Nordin wants pneumococcal vaccination to be made compulsory for Malaysian infants. "This bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics treatment, so patients have to be held back longer in the hospital, requiring a more complicated course of antibiotics that ultimately cost more than a vaccination." He said he hoped that the price of the vaccine can be lowered so that more people can bring their babies in for the shots. However, for now, the cost of one dose remains at RM200. The proposed vaccination for babies is three doses over an interval of time, making the cost of the vaccination RM600 per baby. The appropriate age for the vaccination is between six weeks and nine years old. "Your baby may have signs of a cold, but as soon as there is difficulty in breathing, you must quickly assume that it is pneumococcal and bring them to the hospital," said Dr Musa. He also stressed on the important role of parents in disseminating information to the public. A MOTHER’S WORST NIGHTMARE Infant death is the worst nightmare for a mother who carries a child in her womb for nine months. Popular personality Dynaz Mokhtar, who lost her pre-term first child, was ready to go to any lengths to protect the health of her second child. As soon as she conceived her second child, Dynaz did her best to equip herself with knowledge and become more aware of any health issues of babies. "I am always discussing the health of my baby with my doctor and have taken all immunizations proposed, including the pneumococcal vaccination," she said. PAINFUL FOR MOTHER AND CHILD For a young mother, Zura, watching her then six-month-old son fight for his life against pneumococcal meningitis was mentally, physically and emotionally draining. "His condition was so severe that he had to be put in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for five days, aside from 10 more days in the children’s ward at DSH. "Over the 15 days he was warded, I was always observing him. I was too afraid to leave his side, even for a second, because I could lose him in that second," she sobbed. Now, at 11 months, her son’s development to be very much slower than his peers, she said. Zura, who previously knew little about pneumococcal infection, is now part of a support group for parents that encourages friends to get their children vaccinated against the disease. Further information on the disease and vaccine can be obtained by visiting the website www.abc4pneumoccocal.com . -- BERNAMA