Meningitis foundation warning over illness

Fears have arisen that the number of cases of potentially fatal meningococcal diseases will have increased considerably by the year end.

Latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show that, up to Sept 7, there were 60 cases of meningococcal disease, most of which were from the meningococcal group B (MenB) strain, for which there is no vaccine currently available.

Last year, there were 66 cases of meningococcal disease, resulting in two deaths. Again, over 90% of the cases were MenB.

The Meningitis Research Foundation is worried that the number of cases will have risen by the end of the year, particularly as the peak season has yet to begin.

The new MenB vaccine is still being considered by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee in Ireland.

Trials of the vaccine have shown that it protects people in about 74% of MenB cases. However, the equivalent advisory body in Britain, the Joint Committee on Vaccination, recently decided that the introduction of a MenB vaccine would not be cost-effective.

The vaccine took 20 years to develop and was licensed throughout Europe in January.

Health committees in Spain and France are considering the vaccine, but no other country has recommended its introduction.

The Meningitis Research Foundation believes the JCVI took a short-sighted approach in basing its recommendation on the current number of cases in Britain and failed to consider that the disease has natural peaks and troughs.

The JCVI meets again on Oct 1 and the foundation has been asked to give its response in advance of the meeting.

The foundation has been campaigning for the swift introduction of the vaccine to prevent death and disability. However, while vaccines have almost eliminated many types of meningitis, the disease still presents a very real threat.

The foundation’s Ireland manager, Diane McConnell, said people needed to be aware that they were not fully protected against all forms of the disease, so knowing the symptoms and acting fast is essential to saving lives.

Children are currently routinely vaccinated against Hib, MenC, and 13 strains of pneumococcal meningitis.

Brian Cavanagh from Dublin said that, as a parent of a child who died from meningitis in 1993, he felt reassured that there was now a vaccine that would help to eradicate MenB.

“At the time Elizabeth died, there was no vaccine that could have prevented her death,” he said. “But there is hope now and I therefore urged the Government to consider introducing the vaccine as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, a number of bodies representing people at risk of pneumococcal disease have backed a campaign to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Only 6% of the population are vaccinated against the disease, according to research published yesterday by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, to coincide with the launch of the Seven Reasons You Should Know Pneumo health promotion campaign.

www.meningitis.org