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Meningococcal disease
Meningococcaldiseaseiscausedbybacteria(germs)calledmeningococci,alsoknownasNeisseria meningitidis.Althoughmeningococcaldiseaseisuncommon,itisaveryseriousdisease.The infectioncandevelopquicklyandcancauseseriousillnessordeath.Childrenunderfiveyearsof ageandyoungadultsaged15to24yearsaremostatrisk.Earlydiagnosisandtreatmentwith antibioticsarevital. Meningococcibacteriacommonlycause: Meningitisinfectionofthemembranescoveringthebrainandspinalcord Septicaemiainfectioninthebloodstream. Boththeseinfectionsaremedicalemergencies.Ifyouthinkapersonhassymptomsthatsuggest meningitisorsepticaemia,contactyourdoctorimmediately, calltriplezero(000)foran ambulance orgotothenearesthospitalemergencydepartment. Most common in winter and spring Meningococcaldiseasecanoccurallyearroundandinallagegroups.However,itismorecommon duringwinterandearlyspring.InVictoria,thehighestriskisinchildrenunderfiveyearsofage andyoungadultsaged15to24years.Aboutone-thirdofcasesareinpeople25yearsofageor older. A common bacteria that usually causes no harm Meningococcibacterialivenaturallyinthebackofthenoseandthroatinabout10percentofthe populationwithoutcausingillness.Inasmallnumberofpeople,aparticularstrainofthebacteria getsthroughtheliningofthethroat,entersthebloodstreamandcausesinvasivemeningococcal diseasebeforeimmunitydevelops.Theinfectioncandevelopveryquicklyandcausescausedeath inabout10percentofcases.Ifinfectionisdiagnosedearlyenoughandtherightantibioticsare givenquickly,mostpeoplemakeacompleterecovery. Mostcasesoccuroutoftheblueandareunrelatedtoanyothers.Outbreakswheremorethanone personisaffectedarerare.Althougheveryoneisacarrieratsometime,carriersaremostcommon amongyoungadults,especiallymenandsmokers. Aboutaquarterofpeoplewhorecoverexperienceafter-effects.Someofthemorecommonaftereffectsincludeheadaches,deafnessinoneorbothears,tinnitus(ringingintheears),blurringand doublevision,achesandstiffnessinthejoints,andlearningdifficulties.Mostoftheseproblemsget betterwithtime. How it is spread Meningococcalbacteriaaredifficulttospread.Theyareonlypassedfrompersontopersonby regular,close,prolongedhouseholdandintimatecontactwithsecretionsfromthebackofthenose andthroat.Meningococcibacteriaareonlyfoundinhumansandcannotliveformorethanafew secondsoutsidethebody. Youcannotcatchmeningococcalgermsfromtheenvironmentoranimals. Theycannotbepickedupfromwatersupplies,swimmingpools,buildingsorfactories. Someresearchshowsthatlowlevelsofsalivarycontactisunlikelytotransmitmeningococci bacteria.Infact,salivahasbeenshowntoslowdownthegrowthofmeningococci. Signs and symptoms infants and young children Signsandsymptomsofmeningococcaldiseaseininfantsandyoungchildrencaninclude: Fever Refusingtotakefeeds Irritability,fretfulness Gruntingormoaning

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Extremetirednessorfloppiness Dislikeofbeinghandled Nauseaand/orvomiting Diarrhoea Turningawayfromlight(photophobia) Drowsiness Convulsionsortwitching Rashofredpurplepinprickspotsorlargerbruises.

Signs and symptoms older children and adults Thesignsandsymptomsofmeningococcaldiseaseinolderchildrenandadultscaninclude: Fever Headache Lossofappetite Neckstiffness Discomfortwhenlookingatbrightlights(photophobia) Nauseaand/orvomiting Diarrhoea Achingorsoremuscles Painfulorswollenjoints Difficultywalking Generalmalaise Moaning,unintelligiblespeech Drowsiness Confusion Collapse Rashofredpurplepinprickspotsorlargerbruises.

Get further medical help if you are still worried Ifsomebodyclosetoyouhassomeofthesesignsandsymptomsandseemsmuchsickerthan usual,seekmedicalhelpimmediately.Intheveryearlystages,meningococcaldiseasecanappear tobelikeother,lessseriousillnesses.Yourdoctormaynotimmediatelyrecognisethisillness. Youaretheexpertinyourfamilyshealth.Donothesitatetoseekimmediatemedicalhelp: Ifyouareworriedthatthepersonismuchsickerthanusual. Ifthepersonseemstobegettingworse,suddenlydevelopsarashorbecomesdrowsy Evenifithasonlybeenanhourortwosinceyoulastsoughthelp

Youngadultsshouldnotbeleftaloneiftheysuddenlydevelopafevertheymaybecome seriouslyillveryquickly. Early antibiotic treatment is vital Ifmeningococcaldiseaseissuspected,anantibiotic(usuallypenicillin)isgivenimmediatelyby injection.Peoplewithmeningococcaldiseasearealwaysadmittedtohospitalandmayrequire admissiontoanIntensiveCareUnit. Thesoonerthatantibioticandothertreatmentsbegin,thelessdamagethediseasewillcause. However,thisisaveryseriousinfection,whichcanprogressveryrapidlydespitethebest treatment. Close contacts are offered antibiotics Mostpeoplewhohavehadcontactwithanaffectedperson,likeschoolandworkfriends,donot needantibiotics.Veryclosecontactsofaninfectedpersonareofferedashortcourseofclearance antibioticsinaccordancewiththeAustralianguidelines.Theseantibioticsareeffectiveatgettingrid ofmeningococcibacteriafromthethroat.Theyarenotatreatmentformeningococcaldisease,nor dotheynecessarilypreventanyonefromdevelopingthedisease. Closecontactsmayinclude: Membersofthesamehousehold Agirlfriendorboyfriend

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Anyonewhohasstayedovernightwiththepersonwhoisunwellinthesevendaysbefore theillness Childreninachildcarefacilitywhohavespentatleastfourhoursormoreinthesame roomastheaffectedperson.

Immunisation TherearecurrentlynovaccinesinAustraliathatprotectagainstserogroupBdisease.Thereare twodifferentvaccinesthatprotectagainstserogroupCdisease. Conjugate vaccinesthesecanbegiventoallpeopleofallagesandprovidelonglastingimmunityagainstserogroupCdisease.InVictoria,undertheNationalImmunisation Schedule,afreevaccineisavailabletoallchildrenat12monthsofage. Polysaccharide vaccinesthesecoverseveralserogroupsnotusuallyseeninAustralia. TheyareusefulforpeopletravellingtoplacessuchasAfricaandforpilgrimstotheHajjin SaudiArabia,wheretheseserogroupsaremorecommon.Thesevaccinescannotbegiven tochildrenundertheageoftwoandonlyprovideprotectionforaboutthreeyears.

Peoplewithnospleen(orapartlyfunctioningspleen)andlaboratorystaffwhofrequentlyhandle themeningococcalbacteriashouldreceiveboththeconjugateandpolysaccharidemeningococcal vaccines. What to do if you suspect meningococcal disease Ifyouthinkapersonhassymptomsthatsuggestmeningitisorsepticaemia,contactyourdoctor immediately, calltriplezero(000)foranambulance orgotothenearesthospitalemergency department.Earlydiagnosisandtreatmentwithantibioticsarevital. Where to get help Inanemergency,alwayscalltriplezero(000)foranambulance Yourdoctor Emergencydepartmentofyourlocalhospital

Things to remember Meningococcalbacteriaareonlypassedfrompersontopersonbyregularclose,prolonged householdandintimatecontactwithsecretionsfromthebackofthenoseandthroat. Meningococcaldiseaseisuncommon,butserious. Itisimportanttogobacktothedoctororhospitalformorehelpifyouarestillconcerned. MeningococcalCvaccineprovidesgoodprotectionfromonestrainofmeningococcal disease.

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DHS-CommunicableDiseaseControl

Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

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