NSW Health is advising the community to be aware of the signs and symptoms of rare but severe, invasive bacterial infections following recent increases in cases. Executive Director of Health Protection NSW, Dr Richard Broome said there had been increases in both meningococcal disease (IMD) and invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) infections in recent weeks.  Cases of IMD were above average in NSW towards the end of 2022, and cases of iGAS have increased in NSW, in other states, and overseas.  Dr Broome said it was important the community was aware while the infections are very ..read more

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The meningitis B vaccine is a shot that’s designed to protect you from developing this illness. Meningitis B is a serious bacterial infection that affects the lining of your brain and spinal cord. It can spread quickly and even be fatal within as little as 24 to 48 hours after symptoms begin. This vaccine protects you against meningitis B but not other forms of meningococcal disease. However, the majority of cases of meningococcal disease in the Americas, New Zealand, Europe, and Australia are meningitis B. In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the menin ..read more

THE charity Meningitis Now is urging young people off to university or the world of work this autumn not to assume it’s COVID-19 if they feel ill – it might be meningitis. With A-level results just out, thousands of young people are contemplating their next steps. The charity is concerned that the combination of new-found social freedoms, the desire of young people to mix in large groups, and a move to campus-based accommodation for students, present the ideal opportunity for infectious diseases to spread, putting young people at a higher risk of meningitis. It’s calling on young people to car ..read more

A large-scale study involving tens of thousands of South Australians has been recognised globally as a landmark piece of research about meningococcal B disease, carriage and immunisation. Led by the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Research Institute, the results of the landmark “B Part of It” study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the follow-up “School Leaver” study is set to be published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases later this year. The study rollout involved more than 42,000 people across the state and informed globa ..read more

A teenager from Sydney’s southwest has died after he contracted pneumococcal meningitis – despite being vaccinated against it – and Covid-19. Osama Suduh, 15, died on Sunday night after being hospitalised for meningitis while he also tested positive for Covid. Pneumococcal meningitis is a life-threatening infectious disease that causes inflammation of the layers that surround the brain and spinal cord. A spokesman for Sydney Children’s Hospital confirmed the boy died of meningitis and not Covid-19. “A 15-year-old boy who was being cared for in the Children’s Intensive Care Unit for pneumococca ..read more

Researchers have found a clue as to why bacteria that often live harmlessly in the back of the nose and throat can turn lethal and cause meningitis. New research helps shed light on the genes responsible for a shield-like capsule that could help protect some bacteria from our immune system. Scientists compared the genetic code from thousands of samples and found differences in the cellular machinery responsible for producing this bacterium’s capsule coating. They identified specific subtle genetic changes which produced shield-like hypercapsulation surrounding the bacterium that could improve ..read more

Meningococcus group B, the most prevalent strain of meningococcal infection, is prevented with 79 per cent effectiveness in children and young adults inoculated with the 4CMenB vaccine, also known as Bexsero, according to a new collaborative study from researchers in Portugal and the UK and led by the University of Bristol which evaluated the vaccine’s performance in a real-world setting. The findings are published today [1 December] in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In 2015, the UK was the first country in the world to offer the 4CMenB vaccine free after recommendatio ..read more

Member States recommended the adoption of two resolutions on meningitis control and epilepsy at the 73rd World Health Assembly on Thursday (November 12). Committee A, which focuses on programme and budget matters, decided to recommend the adoption of the first-ever resolution on meningitis, which would approve a global roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030 – a disease that kills 300,000 people annually and leaves one in five of those affected with devastating long-term consequences. The Committee also recommended the adoption of a resolution calling for scaled ..read more

A newborn baby from Adelaide has died in hospital after contracting meningococcal disease. SA Health confirmed on Sunday it had been notified of a case of invasive meningococcal disease in a seven-week-old girl. ‘Tragically, the baby has died in hospital,’ a statement said. Medical experts are yet to identify the exact strain of meningococcal that infected the newborn baby. Five cases of invasive meningococcal disease have been reported in SA this year, well down from the 25 to the same time in 2019. Of those five cases, two were serogroup B, two serogroup Y and one is awaiting typin ..read more