By far, the most anxiety provoking disease a pediatrician need ever deal with is meningitis caused by a bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis. It strikes suddenly, progresses to severe illness within hours, and is deadly in about 15% of cases. Those who do survive are often left with life-long handicaps like missing limbs, deafness, and brain damage.

At the onset, meningitis may look like a banal viral infection, with symptoms like headache, fever and nausea. Just a few hours later, the child may have significant muscle aches, cold hands and feet, and a rash, which looks like tiny burst blood vessels initially but then develops into large splotches of bleeding under the skin. Late signs of meningitis are seizures, delirium and coma. In infants, the progression from totally well to comatose can happen in 15 hours, in adolescents 24 hours. Parents and doctors must recognize meningitis quickly.

The good news about Neisseria meningitis is that is extremely rare, and that there are excellent preventative vaccines at our disposal. The bad news is that there is currently an outbreak of meningitis caused by Neisseria serogroup B in Kent, England. Over 20 young adults have taken ill and two have died.

Please consider vaccinating teenagers and young adults, especially those living in close quarters with many others. Higher risk individuals are university students in halls of residence, army recruits, and crowded summer music festival goers, to name a few. Babies under 2 years of age are also more likely to catch this awful infection, and suffer horrible consequences.

There are safe and effective vaccinations available against 5 serotypes of Neisseria meningitis, namely: A, B, C, W and Y.  Although the jab against meningitis B, which goes by the tradenames Bexsero and Trumemba, is very expensive, this is the most important. There is a preponderance of meningitis B in Hungary, and, in fact, all of Europe. The combination vaccine, Nimenrix, providing protection against serotypes A, C, W and Y, is also recommended. If cost is a big issue, then immunization with the single component meningitis C product (menjugate) is a lot better than being totally unprotected. The aforementioned vaccinations can all cause redness, swelling, and tenderness at the site of injection. Fever, headache and crabbiness in the three days following immunization is not unusual. These jabs may be started as early as 2 months of age.

The pediatricians at RMC are eager to counsel you about the vaccines which prevent Neisseria meningitis. Bexsero and Nimenrix vaccines are immediately available while supplies last.