Back To School Meningitis Warning, UK

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 25 Aug 2009 - 15:00 PDT

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A WARNING has been issued to parents, urging them to be on their guard against meningitis as their children return to school after the summer holidays.

Charity Meningitis UK says the close confines of a classroom put youngsters more at risk from the deadly brain bug.

There are also concerns that the swine flu pandemic may result in meningitis being missed because both illnesses begin with flu-like symptoms.

Children under five are most at-risk from the killer disease, followed by teenagers and students.

Research commissioned by the charity shows that nearly seven out of 10 adults are unaware there is no vaccine to protect against the most common form of meningitis in this country.

The nationwide MORI poll revealed 69 per cent did not realise there was no vaccine for Meningitis B - the strain which causes almost 90 per cent of cases and can kill in under four hours.

Meningitis UK's advice to parents is to make sure they are clued-up on the full range of meningitis symptoms and to trust their instincts.

Its Chief Executive Steve Dayman, who lost his own son Spencer to the disease, said: "The survey shows that many parents wrongly believe their child is protected from meningitis, which could prove fatal.

"We're urging them to know the facts and be extra vigilant as their children return to the crowded environment of a school, where germs spread more easily due to close human contact.

"Meningitis and septicaemia can be hard to recognise in the early stages because the initial symptoms are similar to many mild childhood diseases.

"A child with bacterial meningitis or septicaemia will usually get ill quickly and get worse fast, so parents should check them often because meningitis can kill in under four hours.

"It is vital parents trust their instincts and seek medical treatment as quickly as possible. In the absence of a vaccine, this could mean the difference between life and death."

Successful vaccines exist against some forms of meningitis, including Hib, Meningitis C and pneumococcal meningitis. Meningitis UK funds life-saving research into finding one for the deadly meningitis B strain.

The disease can kill within hours and survivors are often left with severe after-effects including brain damage, sight and hearing loss, limb loss and scarring.

Source
Meningitis UK

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