Meningitis vaccine for little ones

The approved age range for the bacterial meningitis vaccine Menactra has been expanded to include children ages 2 to 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said last week.

The vaccine had been approved for people ages 11 to 55. Previously, a product called Menomune was the only meningitis vaccine approved in the U.S. for use in children ages 2 and older. Both Menactra and Menomune are made by Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and offer protection against four groups of the bacterium that can cause meningitis. In the United States, about 2,600 people become ill from bacterial meningitis each year. About 10 percent of those patients die and about 15 percent suffer brain damage or limb amputation.