Calls to vaccinate against meningococcal ahead of winter

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Parents are being urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against meningococcal disease, with rates of the bacterial infection peaking in the cooler winter months.

The number of incidents of the disease rises to 26 cases per month on average from July through to September, almost double the number of cases from January to March.

The warning comes after a boy died from the infection in the New England region of New South Wales last week.

Meningococcal Australia has designed an online tool to help people understand and recognise the symptoms.

The symptoms can be similar to a cold or the flu, but those affected also get a rash that forms in purple blotches.

Meningococcal Australia director Kirsten Baker says people are more vulnerable to the disease during the winter months.

“That’s because there’s more viruses floating around, so people are more susceptible to picking up bacterial infections, and meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection,” she said.

Ms Baker says the two most at-risk groups are toddlers and people in their early to mid 20s.

The disease is spread by prolonged close contact, such as sneezing, coughing or kissing.

A survey released by Meningococcal Australia shows that many survivors of the bacterial infection continue to suffer from issues such as kidney problems and brain damage.

It shows that more than three-quarters of survivors are permanently affected.

“What we’ve seen from the survey [is that] 8 out of 10 people who replied are still having ongoing physical and psychological issues, long past having meningococcal,” Ms Baker said.