Meningitis outbreak

[Flipitoff]

I’m freaking out a bit

DD has been here all day after travelling from uni yesterday. Her housemate is really poorly and now I’ve just seen the news about the meningitis outbreak at her uni.

Her housemate is in the house on her own now - I’ve told DD to call the uni and let them know. Worried that DD has been here with us all day in case she gets sick

As pp said I’m really confused

One of my dc was vaccinated as a baby but not the other but today I read it’s not a true protection & doesn’t last forever.

What age should i vaccinate the unvaccinated one?

I haven’t seen any of your additional information on any official sources-where did you see it?

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1901229?query=featured_home

Read that statistic here but they’ve done it by overall reduction rates in Men B in infants (I think!). Complex to understand.

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-meningitis-outbreak-in-kent/

Or different opinions on effectiveness in adolescents here. I’m no expert.

I've checked all my kids vaccination records and we actually did Men B for them all in 2019. I didn't think it was that long ago. DC1 had 2x men B in 2019 and is in third year of uni now. DC2 had 2 x men B also in 2019 and is now in Y13 and DC3 had 1x men B in 2019 and is now in Y11.

Because DC2 is going to uni this September, I have booked a third dose of men B booster for them in Boots, as I'm worried that the protection could be better as they and it done nearly 7 years ago. I've also booked a second one for DC3. Interestingly, the Boots website asks whether it is your 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th Men B shot that you are booking for and so when I put in 3rd does, it says this is optional and not part of the recommended course, and lets me book it. So Boots still think you only need 2 and a Booster is not required....

Seems crazy we're exposing a while generation of young kids to this through lack of reliable information and lack of a catch up program. Those poor kids that lost their lives, and their famillies, have been massively let down.

For any medics/virologists on here, how necessary is the booster? If you have had 1/2/3 doses and you contract Men B are you more likely to have a milder course, assuming no underlying health conditions, or does it not work like that with the sepsis aspect?

Thanks! This is all good information. Feel like I’m trying to do a crash course in meningitis!

Me too! Wish it was easier to find clear evidence based advice.

I saw this too...about the case that was not at uni or at the club.

The Oxford Vaccine Group is currently doing important research on this:

1. They have a candidate vaccine for MenB which has performed well in early trials - known for now as ChAdOx1 MenB.1. The hope is that it will be better than Bexsero in terms of breadth of strain covered and duration of immunity, with fewer side effects.
2. They are also conducting trials into the usefulness of a single booster dose of Bexsero in those previously vaccinated with it, in the “MenB 220030 study”

I don’t know whether an Oxford vaccine, if approved, would be cheaper for the UK Government than the current GSK one. The Oxford Vaccine Group (a non-profit outfit) is substantially funded by the Government, so maybe they would get a good deal.

I have managed to book my son in to have a Men B booster in April. He's previously had the 2 doses of the vaccine. The booster is costing me £110 but I'm relieved he's having it.

I'm doing 2 teenagers at a cost of £220, after previously paying £330 and being told the one that had 2 then would be covered to adulthood. Crazy. A lot of money but meningitis petrifieds me, always has since they were tiny babies, so Im not bloody stopping now.

I'm just listening to LBC News and the guy from public health has said it just been promoted to a National issue as cases have been found outside of Kent now.

Not sure whether to bring forward my plans to vaccinate DS 16 and DS 17. Was going to wait until the summer before uni.

I do think it seems concerning that school pupils are involved.

As so few get it each year it’s not really seen as a huge risk. Vaccinations have caused numbers to plummet. Thats why this is so unusual and there’s good info out there. When my DDs were babies, there was guidance on what to look for as it’s a baby illness too. Not sure what’s happened in the intervening years so parents now don’t know what to look for.

Our private one booked just got cancelled (21yro at uni)

The UKHSA's website has now updated to say that they are starting a targeted vaccination programme for those in halls of residence at the Uni - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cases-of-invasive-meningococcal-disease-confirmed-in-kent

What a worry. So sorry for anyone caught up in it.

@Blueskiesnotgrey I'm in the same boat I'm not sure what to do.
She goes in sept but I'm also worried about offer days and other mixing

And of course being so near Easter all those kids are leaving early to go ....home...all over the UK !?

Yep. Next week!

Prof Johnjoe McFadden, Emeretus Professor at the University of Surrey, said:

“Meningitis B is the most common strain of the infection in the UK.

“The identification of the Kent strain as MenB raises the possibility of vaccination to provide protection against group B meningococcal strains. The vaccine, given in two, at least four weeks apart, offers up to three years of protection from the infection.

“However, as the Men B vaccine doesn’t reduce the spread of the infection in healthy individuals (who are the main source of disease), it is not generally given at the population level except to infants, who are more likely to get severe disease if infected.

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said:

“Meningitis B spreads through contact with saliva and respiratory secretions, so anything that puts you in close oral contact with someone else carries a degree of risk. Sharing a vape is no different from sharing a drink or a cigarette in that sense — you are exchanging the kind of mouth secretions that this bacterium travels in.

“Young people tend to share vapes casually and frequently, which makes it a practical concern worth taking seriously. The simple advice is not to share them.

From the link just above, three years is nothing, basic Uni time but with sixth form/gap year/flat shares a second dose is needed.

@Rituelec in the news it's said the Kent campus was quiet because many students had left early

Dallas surely it's the most common strain because we don't properly vaccinated against it.

Also we don't have solid evidence it was spread on a bus but it seems s like it may have been.

This has really unsettled me. I’m a mature student at university in Belfast and my uni sent out an email yesterday with information from the PHA about being vigilant towards signs of meningitis. It also said that there is no increased risk to the population of Northern Ireland, but I’m worried.
I’ve always had a fear of meningitis and now an outbreak in a similar environment to the one I’m in has put me on edge. Is it likely to spread nationwide?

Its not like covid or flu remember in the way its spread, its not an airborne virus.It will go national as students travel home all overwhelmed placeand apaprently one related case already in France from someone that was visiting. It's spread by saliva/close contact though so unless you're hanging out in crowded bars and clubs, snogging people or sharing drinks/vapes, or sharing cutlery etc in a shared hall of residence its not a huge risk.