NSW Health: Public Health Alert!
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. […]
April Newsletter
Meningitis B Vaccine: What Does the Science Say?
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 […]
Don’t assume it’s coronavirus – it might be meningitis
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 […]
SA delivers game-changing vaccine research
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 […]
Sydney teenager Osama Suduh dies after battling Covid and pneumococcal meningitis
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 […]
New clues point to why bacteria can turn lethal and cause meningitis
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 […]
Men B vaccine Offers 79 per cent Protection in Kids
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 […]
World Health Assembly adopts “Defeating Meningitis by 2030” plan
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 […]
7 week old South Australian Baby dies from meningococcal disease
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 […]
