Should I have my baby vaccinated against meningococcus B?
Meningococci are bacteria that can cause various serious diseases. Infection with meningococcus can lead to meningitis (meningitis) or blood poisoning (sepsis). It takes only a few days from the meningococcal infection to the onset of the disease.
In case of illness, the sick person must be treated with antibiotics in hospital. The course of the disease is usually very serious and complications often occur. Other people who have had contact with the sick person must also be treated preventively with medication.
There are different subgroups of meningococcus. Meningococcal serotypes A, B, C, W135 and Y are the most frequent causes of the above-mentioned diseases, whereas the bacteria of groups B and C are mainly found in Europe. The diseases caused by group B meningococci are usually somewhat milder.
Vaccination against meningococci B is not recommended as a standard in Germany. This is regularly checked by the permanent vaccination commission, as these bacteria cause proportionally more diseases. This vaccination is recommended for people who have a congenital or acquired immune deficiency. A vaccination against meningococcus C is recommended from the age of 12 months.
Should I have my baby vaccinated against TBE infection from ticks?
There are two diseases that can be transmitted by a tick bite. One of them is Lyme disease and the other is early summer meningoencephalitis, abbreviated as TBE. People can only protect themselves against infection with the TBE pathogens by means of a vaccination.
TBE is a disease that can lead to inflammation of the brain, meninges or spinal cord. This inflammation is triggered by viruses that are transmitted to humans by a tick bite. If a tick is infected with TBE, symptoms such as fever, headaches, vomiting or dizziness may occur approximately one to two weeks after the tick bite.Usually the disease heals after a few days.
In rare cases, the inflammation of the brain, meninges or spinal cord can lead to movement disorders, paralysis or clouding of consciousness. In principle, children can receive a vaccination against TBE from the age of one. In general, people who spend a lot of time in nature during the months April to November are particularly at risk.
Since children often play in nature, the risk of being bitten by a tick is relatively high. For this reason, the child and its clothing should be thoroughly checked for ticks after playing in nature and if necessary, they should be removed quickly. It should be discussed with the doctor how high the risk of infection for the child is and consequently how useful the vaccination is.
Vaccination against rotavirus infection is a sensible vaccination for infants and small children and is recommended by the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO). Especially infants and toddlers up to the age of 2 fall ill with rotaviruses. When infected with rotavirus, severe watery diarrhoea and vomiting occurs within 2 days.
This can lead to severe fluid and salt loss. This is a dangerous complication and leads to dehydration in babies and toddlers especially quickly. This leads to the fact that many children have to be treated in hospital due to severe disease progression.
This can be avoided very well by a vaccination against rotaviruses. The vaccination is a live vaccine which is administered as an oral vaccination. The vaccine is very well tolerated by the babies.
The vaccination can also be administered simultaneously with other vaccinations. It is recommended to start the oral vaccination up to the age of 12 weeks, usually together with the U3 at about 6 weeks of age. In order to achieve complete protection, depending on the vaccine used, a third oral vaccination must be administered every 4 weeks in addition to a second one.
