Meningitis B jab recommended for children

The Department of Health says it is considering an official recommendation to provide a new vaccine against meningitis for all young children.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee has recommended the vaccine for meningitis B be made available but only if it is provided "at a cost effective price".

The recommendation was made in a letter to the department from the chairman of the committee, which has been considering the issue for over two years.

A Department spokeswoman pointed out the vaccine has not been included in any national immunisation programme by any other country. It has been used in accordance with committee guidelines to control outbreaks of the disease, she added.

The Meningitis Research Foundation said it was pleased with the committee's decision and called on Minister for Health Leo Varadkar to act swiftly and introduce the vaccine as soon as possible. Ireland has the highest rate of meningitis B in the EU, it pointed out, affecting an average of 100 people each year. Last November, the disease claimed the life of an infant in north Dublin.

A vaccine for the C strain of meningitis was introduced in 2000, after which cases dropped by over 98 per cent.

Bexsero, a vaccine for meningitis B, was licensed by the EU Commission in January 2013 and is available in Ireland privately.

The HSE has advised people to be vigilant about the signs and symptoms of the infection, which often has a sudden onset and occurs most often in winter and spring. Young children and adolescents are most at risk.

Symptoms include high temperature, headache, stomach or muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, a stiff neck and a pinpoint or blotchy purple rash which does not fade when pressed.