Wells announces Meningitis B vaccine programme | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Wells announces Meningitis B vaccine programme

Health Minister Jim Wells has announced that he has signed off on a Meningitis B (Men B) vaccine to be included as part of the routine childhood vaccination programme.

Health Minister Jim Wells

Health Minister Jim Wells

The announcement follows the conclusion of negotiations between the Department of Health in England and the vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline to secure the Men B vaccine at a cost effective price.

Mr Wells said, “Men B is an extremely serious illness that can cause devastating consequences. It can lead to septicaemia (blood poisoning) and around one in every 10 such cases is fatal. Sadly, it is infants and children aged under five years who are most affected.

“Early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can lead to a full recovery, but about one in eight cases experience long-term health problems such as amputation, deafness, epilepsy and/or learning difficulties.

“I very much welcome the outcome of the negotiations to secure an effective, safe and cost-effective vaccine to protect against Men B. All four UK Health Ministers had previously accepted the JCVI recommendation to introduce a Men B vaccination programme, subject to the vaccine being procured at a cost effective price.

He added, “This is very good news and I’m sure all prospective parents will welcome the introduction of a Men B vaccine to the routine childhood vaccination schedule.”

Since 2010 we have seen around 25 to 35 cases of Men B each year in Northern Ireland. Men B is now responsible for the vast majority of cases of invasive meningococcal disease in this country.

In the past decade, on average over 1,000 confirmed cases of Men B disease have occurred annually in the UK, although the annual incidence has declined in recent years.

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Posted by on Apr 1 2015. Filed under Community, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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