The U.S. Food and Drug Administration urged that all patients who have cochlear implants get vaccinated against meningitis. The advisory follows on the heels of the deaths of two children who were found to have not been properly vaccinated.
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is inserted into the inner ear to help provide a sense of sound to those that are deaf or hard of hearing.
The FDA stated that health professionals should remind patients of the "increased, life-threatening risk of bacterial meningitis" and the importance of a full vaccination. While all patients are at risk, children are at a higher risk. Depending on age, children may require several doses, which the children who died did not receive.
"About 60,000 cochlear implants have been placed over the past two decades, about half of which are in children, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, citing a New England Journal of Medicine study."
Check out Wikipedia for more information on Meningitis
[Source:Medline Plus]
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