Island to offer new meningitis vaccine?

This weekend the UK’s Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said that a vaccine against meningitis B was to be offered through the NHS for all babies after the government struck a deal with drugs manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline.

Now health leaders in Jersey say that they are considering the Island’s response.

In a short statement, a spokesman for the Health Department said: ‘We are considering this matter in the light of what is planned in the UK.’

Meningitis B is a bacterial infection that particularly affects children under the age of one and is fatal in around ten per cent of cases. It commonly affects children under the age of five and is also common among teenagers.

The Health Department also recently revealed that teenagers in Jersey were to be offered a vaccine against a ‘new aggressive strain’ of meningitis following a rise in cases of meningococcal W meningitis and septicaemia in the UK.

Around 5,000 Islanders aged between 14 and 18 are due to be offered the vaccine. Details about how, where and when the immunisation is to be made available are expected to be released in April.

  • Meningitis is an infection of the meninges (membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord)
  • Meningococcal bacteria are common and carried harmlessly in the nose or throat by about one in 10 people
  • They are passed on through close contact
  • Anyone can get meningitis but babies and young children are most vulnerable
  • Symptoms can include a high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, confusion, vomiting and headaches
  • If a clear glass is pressed firmly against the skin and the rash doesn’t fade, it’s a sign of meningococcal septicaemia.
  • A person with septicaemia may have a rash of tiny ‘pin pricks’ that later develops into purple bruising.
  • Suspected cases of meningococcal disease, even in the absence of a non-fading rash, are a medical emergency, and immediate medical help should be sought to ensure very early diagnosis and urgent treatment.
– Advertisement –
– Advertisement –