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Silver Lining
Erica Tambrini, 34 year old occupational therapist from Indiana USA, had both legs below the knee and both arms below the elbow amputated due to meningitis and sepsis. She feared she may never find love or become a mum as her appearance had dramatically changed. But now she gleams with pride as she has a […]
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Back Home
Luke Mortimer, a seven-year-old Skipton boy, lost his hands and legs to meningococcal meningitis A rugby player, he is back home after a five-month hospital stay during which he had 23 operations. The family faced further challenges during his time in hospital because of the corona virus pandemic with only Luke’s mother Christine allowed to […]
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History Proves
The coronavirus has brought the world & its economies to a halt so the subject of vaccines is in the spotlight again. As early as 1000 CE, it is believed that the Chinese employed smallpox inoculation In the 1796, Edward Jenner is credited with creating the first vaccine with his use of material from cowpox […]
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Vaccine Approved
US FDA approved MenQuadfi, the first quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine aged two years and above. The vaccine uses tetanus toxoid as a protein carrier and formulated as a ready-to-use liquid product. Sanofi Pasteur executive vice-president David Loew said, “Meningococcal meningitis remains a major global health challenge because it can strike quickly and with devastating effect, taking […]
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Re-vaccination Needed
A new study “New Zealand Meningococcal Market Research 2019” commissioned by GSK, has found a lack of understanding about the need to vaccinate against the disease. New Zealand is heading into “peak season” for the devastating disease and it cannot be overlooked due to the coronavirus pandemic. Expert say, “People aged 13 to 29 who were immunised during […]
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World Meningitis Day is April 24
Even though we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic devastating lives around the globe, awareness efforts on World Meningitis Day is still happening this April 24! Meningococcal Meningitis affects anyone, more than 2.8 million people globally each year with teenagers and college students ages 16 through 21 have the highest rates. One in five […]
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Some Similarities
Meningitis & encephalitis though different, both conditions involve inflammation and can be dangerous. Dr. Katie L. Hendley, a neurologist with Covenant Medical Group in Lubbock, Texas, “encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain itself, most often caused by infection. Whereas meningitis affects the membrane that covers the outside of the brain and the spinal cord.” Because encephalitis […]
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Vaccine-preventable diseases
Scientists are working diligently to come up with a vaccine to prevent the continuation of COVID-19 pandemic. There are many diseases though that we face in our lifetime that are vaccine -preventable. An example is Meningococcal Disease. It is a bacterial disease that can cause meningitis, an infection and swelling of the brain and spinal cord […]
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Didn’t See
A doctor who diagnosed Daniel Christopher Roulant, 22, a young Queenslander with a cold had no way of knowing he would die from meningitis six days later. Mr Roulant’s sister April, had not heard from her brother in days so she contacted one of his flatmates to check on him. When both flatmates went to […]
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Tragic Loss
Everett Halikas, an Arcata High School athlete was rushed to UCSF and died of a form of bacterial meningitis. Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County’s Public Health Officer said, “his diagnosis is unrelated to COVID-19. This is a bacteria not a virus. Parents think about vaccinating, Meningococcal disease is a preventable disease.” Read the full article
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