- UK facing ‘public health emergency.
- Island vaccination programme being considered.
- Find out the symptoms to look out for below
A VACCINATION programme to protect Island teenagers from a ‘new aggressive strain’ of meningitis is due to be considered by senior health leaders after it emerged that the UK is facing a ‘public health emergency’.
Meningococcal disease mostly affects young babies and children – in such cases the symptoms may include:
- a high fever, with cold hands and feet
- vomit and refusal to feed
- feeling agitated and not want to be picked up
- becoming drowsy, floppy and unresponsive
- grunt or breathe rapidly
- an unusual high-pitched or moaning cry
- pale, blotchy skin, and a red rash that doesn’t fade when a glass is rolled over it
- a tense, bulging soft spot on their head (fontanelle)
- a stiff neck and dislike bright lights
- convulsions or seizures
Meningococcal disease can also affect older children, teenagers and adults; in these cases the symptoms may include:
- a fever, with cold hands and feet
- vomiting
- drowsiness and difficulty waking up
- confusion and irritability
- severe muscle pain
- pale, blotchy skin, and a distinctive rash (although not everyone will have this)
- a severe headache
- stiff neck
- sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- convulsion or seizures
Dr Linda Diggle, head of healthcare programmes, said plans for an immunisation programme in Jersey had been drawn up following the ‘accelerating increase’ of cases of meningococcal W across the Channel.
The move comes after the Department of Health in the UK announced that it was offering vaccines to three million teenagers to prevent the transmission of the subtype of the disease after the number of cases soared five-fold over a five-year period.
Health Minister Andrew Green and Health chief executive Julie Garbutt are due to decide at a meeting next week whether a similar vaccination programme will be rolled out in Jersey.
However, Dr Diggle said that Jersey tended to follow the UK’s advice regarding childhood vaccination programmes.
If implemented, immunisation would be offered to around 5,000 Island teenagers aged between 14 and 18.
The Health Department said that it was unable to state the cost of any such vaccination programme, as it was ‘commercially sensitive’ information.
There are six different kinds of meningococcal infection which lead to meningitis, known as A, B, C, W, X and Y.
Meningococcal W was rare but a new aggressive strain has emerged, particularly among young people, with 117 cases in the UK last year compared to 22 in 2009.
There have also been 24 deaths in the last two years compared to around four annually until 2012.
In Jersey, there were 12 cases of meningococcal disease between 2000 and 2012, most of which were meningococcal B. There have been no cases of meningococcal W.
Following the rise in cases in the UK the Department of Health said last week that ‘levels of disease were consistent with an outbreak situation’ and that it constituted a ‘public health emergency’.
It added that a vaccination programme would be rolled out as soon as possible.
Dr Diggle said: ‘Our colleagues in the UK Department of Health are currently working with manufacturers and we expect them to make supplies of vaccine available shortly.’
- 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.
