Health Centres - Prevenar
How does it work?
Prevenar is a pneumococcal vaccine that contains extracts from seven of the most common types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for causing invasive diseases such as pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis. The vaccine works by provoking the body's immune response to the bacteria, without causing the diseases.
When the body is exposed to foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, the immune system produces antibodies against them. Antibodies help the body recognise and kill the foreign organisms. They then remain in the body to help protect the body against future infections with the same organism. This is known as active immunity.
The immune system produces different antibodies for each foreign organism it encounters. This establishes a pool of antibodies that helps protect the body from various different diseases.
Vaccines contain extracts or inactivated forms of bacteria or viruses that cause disease. These altered forms of the organisms stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against them, but don't actually cause disease themselves. The antibodies produced remain in the body so that if the organism is encountered naturally, the immune system can recognise it and attack it, thus preventing it from causing disease.
Each bacteria or virus stimulates the immune system to produce a specific type of antibody. This means that different vaccines are needed to prevent different diseases.
Prevenar contains inactivated extracts from seven of the most common types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. It stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against these bacteria and thus is given to prevent the diseases that they can cause.
This pneumococcal vaccine is now part of the childhood immunisation schedule. This vaccine will usually be given as three doses, at two, four and thirteen months of age. There will be a catch-up campaign for children up to two years who have already started their immunisations and your GP will contact you to arrange this.
This vaccine is also recommended for unvaccinated children under five years of age in whom pneumococcal infection may give rise to dangerous complications. These risk groups include children with chronic heart, lung, liver or kidney diseases, diabetes, those with a weakened immune system due to disease (including HIV) or treatment (eg chemotherapy, radiotherapy, high dose corticosteroids), children with a malfunctioning spleen, eg sickle cell disease, or who have had their spleens removed, and children who have had cochlear implants.
Children in these risk groups may also need a further pneumococcal booster after their second birthday. Your doctor will advise you.
The vaccination is given as an injection into the muscle of the thigh for babies under one year and the upper arm for older children.
What is it used for?
- Preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (eg pneumonia, meningitis or blood poisoning) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria in children aged two months to five years.
Warning!
- It is recommended that children who suffer from seizure disorders, eg epilepsy, or who have a history of febrile convulsions, should be given a medicine such as paracetamol (eg Calpol) or ibuprofen (eg Nurofen for children) to prevent the child getting a fever after having this vaccine. Ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist for further advice.
Use with caution in
- Blood clotting disorders, eg haemophilia
-
Reduced platelet count in the blood
Not to be used in
- Known sensitivity or allergy to diphtheria toxoid
- Sudden feverish illness
This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.
Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Pain, swelling, redness and hardening of the skin at the injection site
- Fever (pyrexia)
- Irritability
- Drowsiness
- Restless sleep
- Diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Decreased appetite
- Itchy rash (urticaria) - rare
- Seizures - rare
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
How can this medicine affect other medicines?
This vaccine is not known to affect other medicines.
Other childhood vaccinations can be given at the same time as this vaccine, but different vaccines should be given into different injection sites.
Children who have have been immunised with this vaccine can also be given the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine (Pneumovax II) after their second birthday, when recommended by the child's doctor. The interval between receiving a dose of this vaccine and a dose of Pneumovax II should not be less than eight weeks.
It is recommended that this vaccine is given at least two weeks before starting treatment with therapies that suppress the immune system, eg chemotherapy, radiotherapy, long-term high-dose corticosteroids, or immunosuppressants. This is because once the immune system is suppressed by these treatments, sufficient numbers of antibodies may not be produced in response to the vaccine.
The vaccine should particularly be avoided during radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment. The immune response may also still be reduced after chemotherapy or radiotherapy has finished and the vaccine should therefore not be given within three months of finishing such treatment (possibly longer if the treatment was intensive or prolonged).
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