Oman's Health Ministry advises vaccination to protect against infections

Muscat: Vaccination can successfully protect people against disease and infections such as Meningitis, an infectious disease that affects the mucous membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord known as Meninges, due to a bacterial or viral infection.

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), “The symptoms of Meningitis are fever and spasms, neck stiffness, a headache, nausea or vomiting, confusion or difficulty concentrating, drowsiness, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and thirst and rashes.”

“It’s transferred to people through flying mist while sneezing or coughing by an infected person and contact with the patient’s personal tools or surfaces contaminated with droplets and respiratory secretions. In addition, the complications will show as epileptic seizures, brain damage and ascites of the brain,” they added.

People can prevent infection by avoiding mixing, hugging and kissing people who have symptoms of the disease, not sharing personal items with the patient and practicing healthy habits, such as washing hands, covering your mouth and nose, when sneezing and coughing.

Meningitis vaccine is an effective method that consists of antigens that stimulate the body to produce antibodies to these compounds and thus produce effective immunity and prevent the onset of disease.

The MOH said in a statement, “The target groups for the vaccine are health workers in laboratories, people with HIV, other risk groups and travelers such as pilgrims and travelers to endemic countries.”

“Number of doses is different from one age to another. It is given to children from 9 months to 23 months in case of travel only in two doses, the difference between them being three months. From the age of 2 to 55 years old only one dose is required and in some cases it is recommended to take a booster dose every five years,” they added.

MOH advised people to take the vaccine because it’s safe and effective, but also said that the vaccine can sometimes cause some mild effects, such as fever, pain and redness at the injection site.