Some children may not have had meningococcal C vaccine

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http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7324/1308/b

 

BMJ 2001;323:1308 ( 1 December )

Letters

Some children may not have had meningococcal C vaccine

EDITOR---The immunisation programme with the new meningococcal C conjugate vaccine was introduced in England in November 1999. The vaccine was offered to everyone under the age of 18 with remarkable success, as shown by its impact on the disease. 1 2

Guidance documents received from the Department of Health suggested that all children aged under 5 on 1 September 1999 should be offered immunisation by their general practitioners, while those aged 5 and over were to be immunised at school. In Gloucestershire we received numerous telephone inquiries from school nurses and general practitioners about clarity on who was responsible for immunising children aged over 5 who were in the reception year at school.

A recent confirmed case of group C disease in a 6 year old who was thought to have had the vaccine but was later found not to have received it raised our suspicion that a number of children may potentially have missed receiving the vaccine. Children in this category were those born between 1 September 1994 and 1 August 1995.

Data obtained from our child health surveillance system showed that of a total of 6890 children, only 4479 (65%) had received their meningococcal C vaccine. We have identified all the children and written to their general practitioners, requesting them to check their records and update our database on the immunisation status of children who seem not to have received the vaccine. This letter would also serve as a prompt for general practitioners to remind parents of the need for the immunisation.

Our experience suggests the potential for some individuals to miss out on an important intervention as a result of government advice being misinterpreted.

Oluwatoyin Ejidokun, consultant in communicable disease control. 
Brain O'Neill, public health nurse. 
Gloucestershire Health Authority, Gloucester GL1 2EL ejidokun-t@yahoo.com

Margaret Keating, child health and community nursing systems manager. 
East Gloucestershire NHS Trust, Cheltenham GL50 3EW

Carole Bodkin, child health and records development manager. 
Severn NHS Trust, Gloucester GL1 1LY


1.

Department of Health. Biggest vaccination drive for 40 years smashes meningitis C disease. London: DoH, 2001. (Press release 2001/0007, 3 Jan 2001.) http://tap.ccta.gov.uk/doh/intpress.nsf/page/2001-0007; accessed 16 Nov)

2.

Ramsay M, Andrews N, Kaczmarski E, Miller E. Efficacy of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine in teenagers and toddlers in England. Lancet 2001; 357: 195-196[Medline].

© BMJ 2001

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.