EFFECTIVENESS OF PREVENTIVE PROGRAMS IN MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION.

The most effective preventive measure against N. meningitidis is vaccination. Five meningococcal serogroups are responsible for almost all forms of meningococcal disease in humans. Today it is possible to vaccinate against all five serogroups of meningococcus: A, B, C, Y, W135. For more than 30 years, polysaccharide vaccines against meningococcus have been used in the world. Bivalent (groups A and C) or tetravalent (groups A, C, Y, W135) polysaccharide meningoB coca vaccines have satisfactory immunogenicity in adults and children older than two years. The conjugate vaccine against meningococcal group C has been used in the world since 1999, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in the fight against meningococcal infection. To date, also licensed conjugate vaccine against meningococcus group A and tetravalent conjugate vaccine against meningococcus groups A, C, Y, W135. Conjugate meningococcal vaccine induces adequate antibody production and immunological memory formation in infants vaccinated at 2-4 months of age. Conjugate meningococcal vaccine can be used in children starting from 2-3 months of life, with the introduction of three doses in the first year of life or one dose of vaccine in adolescence. A polysaccharide vaccine against meningococcal groups A and C may be recommended for vaccination in children over two years of age. In Ukraine, a conjugated tetravalent vaccine against meningococcal groups A, C, Y, W135 and polysaccharide vaccine against meningococcal groups A and C. vaccination against meningococcus for health reasons is indicated in patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiencyB we are at high risk of developing invasive forms of meningococcal infections, including meningitis (deficiency of the complement system, asplenia, HIV infection). Vaccination against meningococcus is recommended in the epidemic rise in incidence with generalized forms to persons living on endemic teritoB swarms and in foci of infection caused by meningococcus of the corresponding serogroup.