Meningitis awareness

It is important that parents, young people and students know their meningitis vaccination status.

Meningitis can be very serious if not treated quickly and can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.

It can affect anyone but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

Vaccinations offer some protection against certain causes of meningitis. These include the:

• MenB vaccine – offered to babies aged 8 weeks, followed by a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at 1 year
• 6-in-1 vaccine – offered to children at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks and 18 months
• pneumococcal vaccine – 2 doses offered to babies at 16 weeks and 1 year, and a single dose offered to adults aged 65 or over
• MMRV vaccine – offered to children at 12 months and 18 months
• MenACWY vaccine – offered to teenagers, sixth formers and “fresher” students going to university for the first time

  Symptoms

Please be aware of the following symptoms of meningitis to look out for. They develop suddenly and can include:

• a high temperature (fever)
• being sick
• a headache
• a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop)
• a stiff neck
• a dislike of bright lights
• drowsiness or unresponsiveness
• seizures (fits)

These symptoms can appear in any order and you do not always get all the symptoms.

Call 999 for an ambulance or go to your nearest A&E immediately if you think you or someone you look after could have meningitis or sepsis.

How meningitis is spread

Infections that cause meningitis can be spread through:

• sneezing
• coughing
• kissing

Meningitis is usually caught from people who carry these viruses or bacteria in their nose or throat but are not ill themselves.

It can also be caught from someone with meningitis, but this is less common.

You can find out more about meningitis on the NHS website.