AU: Rise in meningococcal infections in the Northern Territory

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.katherinetimes.com.au/sto...eadly-disease/

Outbreak of deadly disease includes Katherine
Chris McLennan
26 Sep 2017, 2:43 p.m.

The Northern Territory has seen a rise in meningococcal infection with 17 cases so far this year.

Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness due to a bacterial infection of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain and occasionally infect other sites, such as large joints.

Most of the meningococcal W infections in the NT have occurred in Aboriginal children living in Katherine, central Australia and Barkly regions.

Most of these cases are serogroup W which has recently risen across Australia.

Ten are definite serogroup W with five awaiting final laboratory testing but likely to be serogroup W.

There has been a rapid increase in meningococcal W disease in the month of September with 10 cases of confirmed or probable serogroup W reported.

In comparison, the total number of all meningococcal cases reported in the NT was 3 in 2016, 1 in 2015 and 4 in 2014...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-1...milies/9048776

Meningococcal outbreak worries families in Central Australia
By Nick Hose
Posted about an hour ago

Grandmother of three Vanessa Smith isn't taking any chances with her 12-month-old grandson Mattio, or her six-year-old granddaughter Rexena.

"You would rather get the injection now than have them in Alice Springs Hospital waking up with limbs missing from the disease itself," Ms Smith said.

An outbreak of the W strain of the deadly disease meningococcal has prompted health authorities to immunise the most vulnerable.

In the hallway of the remote health clinic mums and dads, grandparents and uncles line up with their little ones.

"I'm very concerned," said Kevin Ashby, the father of a nine-year-old boy.

"There's been a number of outbreaks, so I think it's a good thing to get down here, get the kids done."

So far there have been 26 cases of the contagious disease in remote parts of the Northern Territory, with new cases confirmed in the APY lands near the South Australian border, and in remote parts of WA...

...The cause of the outbreak remains a mystery...