UK Rolls Out World's First Meningitis B Vaccination Program for All Newborn Babies

Over the next decade, the meningitis B vaccine could prevent up to 4,000 cases of meningococcal disease in children younger than five years in the UK.

Britain became the first country to implement a vaccination program against meningitis B for all newborn babies, which is fatal in one in 10 cases.

Campaigners hope the vaccine, which will be given to babies at two, four and 12 months old, will prevent up to 4,000 cases by 2025.

Swedish Health Officials Confirms Meningitis After Recent Japan Scout Jamboree
Health authorities urged Swedes who went on the scout jamboree in Japan to get antibiotics to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease, meningitis.

It is billed as the world's first nationwide publicly-funded program against the infection.

Trials found that the vaccine was effective against 88 percent of the hundreds of strains of meningococcal group B bacteria.

"Over the next decade this vaccine could potentially prevent up to 4,000 cases of meningococcal disease in children younger than five years in the UK," said Christopher Head, from the Meningitis Research Foundation.

3 Possible Meningitis Cases in Sweden After Japan Scout Jamboree
The Swedish Public Health Agency has urged the Swedish participants to visit a doctor to get antibiotics to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease.

Sue Davie, chief executive of the charity Meningitis Now, called the move a "massive step forward."

Group B is the most common meningitis in Britain, with around 1,700 cases diagnosed each year. Babies already receive a meningitis C vaccination.

Noninvasive Bacterial Meningitis Test Based on Ultrasound May End Repeated Spinal Taps
The special ultrasound device may very well make spinal taps obsolete when evaluating small children for bacterial meningitis.

The National Health Service warns that the vaccine can cause side effects, "but studies suggest they are generally mild and don't last long."

"Since the vaccine was licensed, almost a million doses have been given, with no safety concerns identified," it said.

At Least 250 Killed During Meningitis Epidemic in Poverty-stricken Niger
At least 250 people have died since January in the meningitis epidemic in Niger amid a shortage of vaccines needed to stop the spread of the disease.

Bacterial Meningitis, which includes Meningitis B, accounts for 170,000 deaths globally every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Source-AFP