Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:

Use of Meningitis Vaccine in Persons with Cochlear Implants
FACT SHEET for Healthcare Professionals

June 4, 2007 (originally published October 2002)

What You Should Know

• In 2002, the CDC and FDA, in partnership with state health departments completed an investigation that found children with cochlear implants are more likely to get bacterial meningitis than children without cochlear implants. Some children who are candidates for cochlear implants have anatomic factors which may increase their risk for meningitis. However, the study was not designed to evaluate this association. (Reefhuis J, Honein M, Whitney C. et al. Risk of bacterial meningitis in children with cochlear implants. New England Journal of Medicine 2003; 349;5:435-445.)

• Because people with cochlear implants are at increased risk for pneumococcal meningitis, CDC recommends that people with cochlear implants follow recommendations for pneumococcal vaccinations that apply to members of other groups at high risk for invasive pneumococcal disease.

• Pneumococcal vaccination recommendations for people with cochlear implants can be viewed in the table within the July 31, 2003 Early Release MMWR issue
  (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/m2e731a1.htm)
  and include the following:

• Children with cochlear implants less than aged 2 years should receive pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) (Prevnar®) as is recommended for all children.
• Children with cochlear implants aged 2 years and older who have completed the PCV-7 series should receive one dose of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV-23) (Pneumovax® 23). If they have just received PCV-7, they should wait at least two months before receiving PPV-23.
• Children with cochlear implants between 24 and 59 months of age who have never received either PCV-7 or PPV-23 should receive two doses of PCV-7 two or more months apart and then receive one dose of PPV-23 at least two months later.
• Persons aged 5 years and older with cochlear implants should receive one dose of PPV-23. Revaccination is not indicated.

Additional Facts

• Worldwide, there are over 90 known reports of people getting meningitis after getting a cochlear implant. This is out of approximately 60,000 people who have cochlear implants.

• Five vaccines protect against most of the bacteria that cause meningitis. The vaccines are:

  • 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate (PCV-7) (Prevnar®)

  • 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPV-23)
    (Pneumovax® 23)

  • Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate (Hib)

  • Tetravalent (A,C,Y,W-135) meningococcal conjugate (Mencatra ®)

  • Tetravalent (A,C,Y,W-135) meningococcal polysaccharide (Menomune®).

• Meningitis in people with cochlear implants is most commonly caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). Children with cochlear implants have a significantly higher risk of developing pneumococcal meningitis than children without cochlear implants. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently voted to include persons with cochlear implants as a high risk group for pneumococcal vaccination.

• None of the children in the investigation had meningococcal meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis. There is no evidence that children with cochlear implants are more likely to get meningococcal meningitis than children without cochlear implants.

For More Information

For information about hearing loss, cochlear implants, and this investigation:

• Visit the National Center on Birth Defects and Development Disabilities at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/ehdi/cochlear/
  
• Visit the FDA Public Health Web Notification at
  www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety/020606-cochlear.html (exit)

For more information about vaccines and vaccinations:

• Call CDC's Information Contact Center
  • English and Español: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
  • TTY: 1-888-232-6348

Non-CDC Link Disclaimer: Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization web pages found at these links.

 Return to main Meningococcal Vaccination page

• Email this page
• Printer-friendly version

• Help
• Glossary / Acronyms
• Site Map