The Department of Health has reported that three older adults have been diagnosed with meningococcal disease. Two cases were caused by serogroup B and one by serogroup W. Sadly one adult has died, and the other two adults are recovering in hospital. The cases were not linked.
Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain, and occasionally of other sites, such as the throat, lungs or large joints.
These are the first three reported cases of meningococcal disease in 2024. In 2023, a total of nine meningococcal cases were reported and there were no deaths.
There are two types of meningococcal vaccine available: one protects against four serogroups of the meningococcal disease (serogroups A, C, W and Y) and the other protects against serogroup B.
The MenACWY vaccine is offered free to all children at 12 months of age. In addition, the MenACWY vaccine is offered to all Year 10 students, with a free catch-up program for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old.
Due to a higher rate of meningococcal disease in Aboriginal children in WA, the MenACWY vaccine is offered free to Aboriginal children aged from 6 weeks to 12 months old. The MenB vaccine is free for all Aboriginal children aged up to 2 years old. Both these vaccines are also free for people of all ages with certain medical risk conditions. People not eligible for free vaccines can request them through their immunisation provider for a fee.
Meningococcal bacteria are not easily spread from person-to-person. The bacterium is present in droplets discharged from the nose and throat when coughing or sneezing but is not spread by saliva and does not survive more than a few seconds in the environment.
Meningococcal bacteria are carried harmlessly in the back of the nose and throat by about 10-20 percent of the population at any one time. Very rarely, the bacteria invade the bloodstream or tissues and cause serious infections.
Sometimes – but not always – symptoms may be accompanied by the appearance of a spotty red-purple rash that looks like small bleeding points beneath the skin or bruises.
Symptoms of invasive meningococcal disease may include high fever, chills, headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, and severe muscle and joint pains. Young children may not complain of symptoms, so fever, pale or blotchy complexion, vomiting, lethargy (inactivity), poor feeding and rash are important signs.
Although treatable with antibiotics, meningococcal infection can progress very rapidly, so it is important that anyone with these symptoms seeks medical attention urgently.
With appropriate treatment, most people with the disease recover, although around 5 to 10 per cent will die and around 15 per cent may experience long-term complications such as hearing loss, limb amputations or brain damage.
