Meningococcus is a very common microbe, and on a global scale. In developed countries, he was declared a war more than 10 years ago, and the main weapon was mandatory vaccination of children from 2 months of age. In Russia, parents can protect the baby from him only on their own initiative. Pneumococcus targets are the nasopharynx, middle ear and lungs. Annually, this microbe kills 1 million 600 thousand people, 800 thousand of them - toddlers up to 2 years and 200 thousand - children from 2 to 5 years. Infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Its main carriers are children attending nurseries, a kindergarten and an elementary school. Bacteria can nod for years and wake up unexpectedly after mild hypothermia or overheating, stress, trauma or during a cold.
Risk group
The greatest threat to pneumococcus is for children younger than 2 years. The bacterium differs from its counterparts in a special structure. It has a strong polysaccharide membrane, which only the immune cells of an adult can cope with. Since a small child has a protective system just beginning to form, it can not withstand defense. Secondly, babies are prone to a rapid course of the disease, and sometimes the count goes not on days, but on hours.
Serious consequences
Pneumococcus can cause various diseases, the most dangerous of them - pneumonia meningitis and sepsis. They are the ones who persecute kids under 2 years old. In older children, through the fault of this bacterium, otitis (inflammation of the middle ear) and sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses of the nose) most often occur. However, otitis caused by pneumococcus almost always recur and often lead to purulent inflammation. These processes can lead to complete deafness with a subsequent slowdown of speech and mental development. Due to the fact that pneumococcal infection often layers on the common cold, it is difficult for parents and pediatricians to recognize it against the background of standard symptoms: fever and a cold. To make an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to pass a special analysis, but in our country these measures are resorted only in the most severe cases. Another problem: over the past 10 years, this microbe has developed a high resistance to antibiotics. To pick up a drug, doctors sometimes take several days.
Important landmarks
It is difficult to distinguish pneumococcal infection from a cold, but it is possible for several characteristic symptoms. Let's analyze three most serious cases. Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is the most common cause of death among children under 5 years old. Other types of pneumonia are also unpleasant, but this most often joins the flu. How can they be distinguished? With flu or cold, if the baby is knocked down the temperature, he plays, crawls, runs, eats with appetite. With a bacterial infection, he lies a lot, long sleeps, becomes sluggish, refuses to eat. There are also symptoms of intoxication (increased concentration in the body of toxins that microbes secrete): the skin of the child noticeably pales. But an obvious sign of pneumonia is shortness of breath, which appears almost immediately, a maximum on the 2nd day. Meningitis, inflammation of the membranes of the brain, provoke several microbes. In children up to 1 - 2 years old, the disease is most often caused by pneumococcus and hemophilic rod, in older children - meningococcus. Meningitis almost never passes without a trace, and its pneumococcal variety most often leaves the child disabled. Bacteria multiply in the meninges, and since it covers the entire brain, the lesion can occur anywhere. If the infection reaches the optic nerve, with the worst scenario, blindness occurs if the ear is deaf. Another common consequence is the lag in psychomotor development, which can manifest itself several years after the disease. Studies have shown that children who have experienced pneumococcal meningitis at an early age in school suffer from restlessness, lack of attention, and differ from peers in low achievement. Disturbing signals - violation of clarity of consciousness, the appearance of skin rashes, sharp, piercing and very annoyed scream (a sign that the child has a strong headache). Infants up to 6 months of temperature may not be, because at this age thermoregulation occurs differently than in adults; in older children, it usually rises to 40 C. Sepsis, bacterial infection of the blood, most often cause staphylococci and streptococci, less often pneumococcus, E. coli and other microbes. Once in the blood, the bacteria affect all organs and systems, and if not on time To stop the process, a lethal outcome can not be avoided, but this disease is rare, and not all people are infected with it, in this case everything depends on the individual characteristics of the body and the immune system. Acute intoxication of the body, pale skin of earthy (gray-yellow) color.
The Right Weapon
The most effective method of protection from pneumococcal infection is timely vaccination. Ideally, the first inoculation should be done in 2 months. It is believed that by this time the child is extinguished by the so-called "maternal immunity", which he received during the prenatal period. To instill the kid it is possible and later, only then efficiency will decrease in times. If you choose an "ideal" scheme that provides maximum protection, doctors will vaccinate in two stages: starting from 2 months, the baby will be given 3 vaccinations at intervals of 1-1.5 months, and the last in the second year of life at 15 or 18 months. Before the vaccination it is necessary to pass a test: to pass urine and blood tests, to show the child to the pediatrician and neurologist, so as not to miss chronic diseases, due to which the vaccination will have to be postponed for a while. The vaccine against pneumococcal infection is safe and practically does not cause side effects, but all because it is inactivated, that is, "inanimate". According to statistics, on the day of vaccination, the temperature rises only in 5-10%, and the heat is easily knocked down by paracetamol. In addition, this vaccine is combined with any vaccination of the National calendar. The drug can be administered to a baby on the same day as vaccinations against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DTT), hepatitis B. poliomyelitis and other diseases. Another undeniable plus of the vaccine is that it kills the "sleeping" bacteria. If you instill a child of older age, he will cease to be a carrier.