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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on September 10, 2015 at 13:55

Meningitis: Why you need to know about it if you're heading to univ...

Don't think meningitis is something that only affects babies.

The disease is an infection of the protective membranes that surround your brain and spinal cord. It can often be fatal.

But one strain - meningitis W - has been on the rise since 2009 and it's students who are one of the most at-risk groups of contracting it.

All 17 and 18-year-olds heading to university or college are being offered a free vaccine to protect against it.

In 2009, there were 22 confirmed cases. That increased to 117 in 2014. Meningitis W (also called MenW) also has a higher-than-usual death rate.

Who's eligible?

All 17 and 18-year-olds heading to college or university are being invited to their GP for the vaccination.

All under-25's who are about to start uni are being offered it too but they won't be contacted directly.

CLICK HERE to read Harriet's story

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on February 18, 2016 at 13:17

This is a photo of Faye, 2-years-old, who sadly lost her life to this dreadful disease.

“Faye was taken to A&E with a rash on her forehead. She was then transferred by South Bank Retrieval Service to Evelina Children's Hospital, where her heart stopped in the ambulance. They revived her and spent hours working on stabilising her."

“We were given a one per cent survival chance but she proved them wrong and carried on fighting."

“After a few days she seemed to have turned a corner, but the sepsis started to affect her more and the decision of limb removal was made. The extent of removal was massive, full leg amputation and one arm and plastic surgery."

“She was getting tired, her little body consumed by meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning). We had to make the decision, a massive operation and she may die or we let her go peacefully on her own accord."

“We decided the latter and then watched our little girl slip away. At 9pm on February 14th she finally fell asleep forever. All this in only 11 days."

A petition to Parliament calling for the vaccine to be offered free on the NHS to children aged up to 11 is due to break records and gain more than 500,000 signatures. To sign the petition CLICK HERE, currently at 465,380 signatures

Only one other government e-petition has passed the 500,000 mark — the call for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK (currently 579,338 signatures)

Boots said it had run out of supplies and CityDoc, the largest supplier of the vaccine outside of the NHS, said it was unable to offer it to new patients.

For more information CLICK HERE

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on February 19, 2016 at 15:09

• As of 15:00 on 19th February the response to the parliamentary petition had reached 587,022 signatures, this number of signatures currently exceeds those who signed to exclude Donald Trump for the UK [currently 579,492 signatures]

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on February 20, 2016 at 12:19

As of 12:20 on 20th February the response to the parliamentary petition had reached 628,520 signatures

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on February 18, 2016 at 13:42

UPDATED: Private clinics seeing shortage of GSK's Bexsero in U.K.

January 27, 2016 | By Eric Sagonowsky

GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) has been experiencing a high demand for its meningitis B vaccine Bexsero that has led to a shortage of doses for U.K. private clinics outside of the [UK's] National Health Service.

Since September 2015, the vaccine has been offered to British infants at two months, four months and 12 to 13 months as part of a deal between GSK and the NHS. However, The Telegraph reports that private clinics are unable to start new courses due to a shortage. GSK, in an emailed statement to FierceVaccines, cited "unexpected global demand" for the "supply constraints" that it hopes to allay by summer.

"We know the unexpectedly high demand for the vaccine reflects the importance parents have placed on protecting their children from meningitis B, so we are working hard to increase supply, and expect to have increased stock by summer 2016," a GSK spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

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