The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand has urged
university students and other members of the public in
Dunedin to seek medical attention urgently if they are
showing any signs of the deadly disease, after a case of
meningococcal disease was discovered in North Dunedin in
recent days.
Symptoms include:
- A stiff,
sore neck - A severe headache
- A fever,
sometimes accompanied by cold hands and
feet - Vomiting
- A sensitivity to light, or a
dislike of bright lights (an early warning sign) - If
a child or adult is difficult to wake, or in a drowsy and
confused state - Aching or sore
joints - Experiencing convulsive fits or
seizures
Meningitis Foundation spokesperson
Gerard Rushton says that meningococcal can strike suddenly
and can kill within hours.
“Its symptoms can be
easily confused with other illnesses, including the flu and
Covid-19, and they often present late. Meningitis has a
range of causes including bacteria, viruses and fungi,” he
says.
“Please don’t be complacent, or just assume
you have Covid-19. Early diagnosis could be the difference
between life and death.”
Rushton, who with his wife
Claire lost their 16-year-old daughter Courtenay to the
disease in 2014, highlighted that students living in first
year university residences were eligible for free
vaccination for the A, C, W, & Y meningococcal strains,
and urged them to get it.
“The vaccine is 80–85%
effective. There are already cases occurring, and
meningococcal can spread relatively easily from person to
person. I’d strongly support all students living in first
year university residences to get vaccinated, whether they
are studying in Otago or at other tertiary institutes around
Aotearoa New Zealand,” he says.
He said it wasn’t
just death that was a risk, and many more patients – up to
40% of those affected – could suffer severe permanent
impairment and disability including loss of limbs, hearing
loss, learning difficulties, cerebral palsy and brain
damage.
The Meningitis Foundation will next week be
making an oral presentation to Parliament’s Health
committee, in support of its petition asking the Government
to fund both meningococcal vaccines for the most common
strains of meningococcal disease – the B and A, C, W,
& Y strains – for all 16-year-olds before they leave
school.
The Foundation is calling on Parliament to
make two currently available vaccines, which cover the most
common strains of meningococcal disease, free for all young
people.
Pharmac’s Pharmaceutical Therapeutics
Advisory Committee will this month begin consultation for
its funding options for the most common strains of
meningococcal disease – the B and A, C, W, & Y
strains.
Rushton says that change is needed
urgently.
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