Bacterial Meningitis Prevention

Prevention

To help reduce your chances of getting bacterial meningitis, consider the following steps:

• Vaccines against Hib —usually for children
• Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae usually for:
  • All people over age 65
  • People ages 2 to 64 with certain chronic medical problems
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae usually for:
  • Infants
  • All children older than 2 years old
• Preventative antibiotics—for healthcare workers or family members in close contact with infected patients
• Buying pasteurized milk and milk products—to prevent meningitis due to Listeria monocytogenes
• Monitor for maternal infection during and before labor to prevent meningitis in newborns