Meningitis in Babies Awareness Week

24 September 2009

Meningitis in Babies Awareness Week 21-27 September 2009

Meningitis in Babies Awareness Week marks the beginning of the high season for meningitis (the autumn and winter months). The week will raise awareness of the symptoms of the diseases specifically in babies under 12 months of age and launch a new UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) wide project which will seek to determine the burden of neonatal meningitis, how it is managed, and ways to improve management. 

Dr Paul Heath, chief investigator on the project at St George’s University of London said: “The early treatment of meningitis in babies appears to vary widely across the UK.   This project will investigate healthcare delivery and look for ways to improve management of meningitis in newborn babies. We hope to develop best practice guidelines that will make a real difference.”

Billie Piper, TV actress who starred in Doctor Who and is a new mother of baby Winston, is supporting the campaign: “Meningitis and septicaemia are every parent’s worst nightmare. MRF’s campaign will raise awareness of these diseases among parents of young babies, which is essential as it can be very difficult to spot meningitis in babies because the symptoms are even less obvious than in older children and adults.  Meningitis develops very quickly and can kill in hours, therefore there just is no time for delayed diagnosis.”

Why meningitis in babies?

• Babies under 12 months of age run a 38 times higher risk of meningitis than children over one and adults.
• Over 1000 babies under one become ill with meningitis every year in the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI).
• One in 10 babies who contract meningitis die and one in four are left with after-effects sometimes as severe as deafness, brain damage and amputations.
• About 2 deaths will occur almost every week in children under one.
• Meningitis is very damaging in young babies.
• The opportunities for preventing meningitis in the youngest babies are very limited.
• There are no vaccines against neonatal meningitis Although other meningitis vaccines are reducing meningitis in older children, they cannot be given to babies under 2 months of age.
• The most common cause of neonatal meningitis – Group B Streptococcus – can be prevented in newborn babies by giving antibiotics to at-risk mothers during labour.  Despite longstanding recommendations on preventing Group B Strep, many ‘at-risk’ mothers are never offered antibiotics.  Half of current cases of Group B Strep in newborns could be prevented if guidelines were followed. More information on GBS is also available from GBS Support.
• Better recognition and treatment could reduce death and disability from these diseases. We have launched a new research project led by Dr Paul Heath as part of this campaign which will determine the burden of disease in newborn babies and establish standards of care to improve the outcome. The project aims to identify areas where improvement in the current care of these infants is possible and anticipate that such improvements will result in better outcomes for all infants with meningitis. MRF will then campaign for the implementation of these guidelines into best practice standards across hospitals in the UK and ROI.
• Meningitis and septicaemia can be very difficult to spot meningitis in babies because the symptoms are much less obvious than in older children and adults.  Therefore parents need to know the symptoms – contact MRF to get the free symptoms information.

Read about the experiences of specific babies with meningitis - England and Wales case studies:

Cieran Burke
Five-year-old Cieran had meningitis aged just 38 weeks. He recovered but is profoundly deaf, he has a cochlear implant but it doesn't do much i.e. little speech, slight Cerebral Palsy, epilepsy and is currently undergoing assessment for ADHD and autism.

Megan McClure
Nicky's daughter Megan had GBS meningitis 2004 soon after birth. She has made a great recovery but has a weakened immune system as a result of the disease.

Leo Steel
Lucy’s son Leo suffered from Group B Meningococcal meningitis (MenB) in May 08 aged just 8 months. He was critically ill but somehow pulled through to make a full recovery.

England and Wales regional case studies also available for local press.

Scottish statistics and case studies: Lee Thorburn, Daniel Ferries, Katelyn McGrotty, Rhianna Curl.

Resources for the media: Media FAQ, Meningitis and septicaemia explained, Baby Watch symptoms information.

Order a free symptoms information pack.