Meningitis has been big news in the UK throughout 2014 but it’s no time to be complacent about the symptoms; this deadly disease hasn’t gone away warns international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) during its annual Meningitis Awareness Week (15 – 21 September 2014).
A new MenB vaccine was recommended for use on the NHS to protect babies in March 2014, but it’s not been implemented yet, and a MenC booster campaign is currently underway for those aged under 25 starting university this year. But people of all age groups can be affected by many forms of the disease. Everyone can help save lives by knowing the signs and symptoms and having the confidence to seek medical help fast when family and friends fall sick.
MRF Chief Executive, Christopher Head says: “It’s our 25th anniversary this year and after decades investing in research, campaigning and support, we have seen remarkable progress in the fight against meningitis in the UK in 2014. But we are still some way from protecting everyone from all forms of the disease. We cannot be complacent. Meningitis hasn’t gone away which is why we continue to promote the symptoms in the run up to the winter peak for cases with a life-saving national Meningitis Awareness Week.”
The charity estimates 3,200 people are affected by meningitis and septicaemia in the UK every year. One in ten dies and a quarter of survivors are left with life altering disabilities ranging from deafness and brain damage to amputations. Globally around 1,000 people die from meningitis every single day.
Listen to our podcast with Dr Carol Cooper where she discusses parents health fears with meningitis
Dr Carol Cooper
A new survey has revealed that three quarters of parents would like to see meningitis eradicated above all other vaccine preventable diseases, including measles, mumps and whooping cough[i].
Meningitis remains the most feared infectious disease amongst parents as it strikes so quickly and can kill within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, even despite swift treatment[ii]. It is also extremely tough to detect as the early symptoms of meningitis can resemble the flu, making it difficult to differentiate from other less serious childhood infections. One in ten of those infected will die and a further 20% of survivors will be left with after effects including long term disabilities such as brain damage, amputations and hearing loss2,[iii].
Great progress has been made through the introduction of vaccines for some causes of meningitis, such as the Meningooccal Group C (MenC) vaccine which was introduced in 1999 and has prevented over 9,000 serious cases and 1,000 deaths[iv]. Thirteen years on from the vaccines introduction there have been less than 30 cases of MenC annually for the last five years, showing that this type of the disease has been virtually eradicated in the UK[v]. An ongoing threat remains however, from the Meningococcal Group B (MenB) strain which accounts for over half of all meningitis cases in the UK and cannot be prevented by vaccines currently available on the National Immunisation Programme[vi].
Vaccination programmes have had an extremely positive impact on public health, saving millions of lives and ensuring that life threatening diseases such as polio are now no longer seen in the UK[vii],[viii]. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the last reported UK death from smallpox, a disease which used to affect over 50 million people globally each year[ix] and that has now been consigned to the history books thanks to wide scale vaccination.
As children get set to head back to school parents should remember that while many infections are minor and easily treatable, the threat of more serious and life threatening conditions such as meningitis remains and parents should remain vigilant.
[i] Novartis data on file. Opinion Matters consumer survey conducted August 2013
[ii] World Health Organisation. Meningococcal meningitis factsheet. Nov 2012. Available at: www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs141/en/. Accessed Aug 2013.
[iii] Rosenstein NE, et al. Meningococcal disease. N Engl J Med 2001;344:1378-88
[iv] Health Protection Agency. Vaccination for Meningococcal disease. Available at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1296682977081. Accessed Aug 2013.
[v] Health Protection Agency. Table 8: Invasive meningococcal C infections laboratory reports, England and Wales by age group & epidemiological year, 1998/99-2011/12 Available at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317136089480. Accessed Aug 2013.
[vi] Meningitis Research Foundation. UK Facts and Figures (webpage). Available at: www.meningitis.org/facts Accessed Aug 2013.
[vii] NHS Immunisation Information factsheet 2004. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/planners/vaccinations/documents/factsheet%20diptheria%20tetanus%20pertussis%20polio%20hib%5B1%5D.pdf Accessed August 2013
[viii] British Polio. Polio and vaccination webpage. Available at: http://www.britishpolio.org.uk/polio-and-post-polio-syndrome/polio-and-vaccination.html Accessed August 2013
[ix] World Health Organisation. Smallpox factsheet 2001. Available at: http://www2a.cdc.gov/nip/isd/spoxclincian/contents/references/factsheet.pdf Accessed Aug 2013
Dr Carol Cooper is a prolific writer and broadcaster as well as a practising family doctor and mother of three sons, including twins. She graduated in medicine from Cambridge University. After this, she spent several years in different hospital specialities, most recently rheumatology, before entering general practice soon after the birth of her first child.
Carol regularly appears on TV and radio, giving expert medical opinions on topical health matters.
Carol’s books are mainly on child health and parenting, including the much-loved Twins & Multiple Births. Most of the titles are a fusion of her personal experience and her professional expertise. As a journalist, her work appears in publications as diverse as The Sun and The Lancet. She is The Sun’s doctor and is honorary consultant in family medicine to Tamba, the Twins & Multiple Births Association.
A lone parent, Carol finds that her three sons, now all young adults, provide endless inspiration as well as welcome relief from medical practice. She says that, no matter how hard you work as a medic, you reach more people with a pen than you can with a stethoscope.
Although Carol writes and broadcasts on many health topics from meningitis to athlete’s foot, her special interests are child and family medicine, men’s health, sports medicine, twins/multiple births, and arthritis/rheumatism.
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