{"id":50811,"date":"2014-11-27T11:22:30","date_gmt":"2014-11-27T11:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=1af95be5ae36e03560e66f15b6e02a73"},"modified":"2014-11-27T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2014-11-27T11:22:30","slug":"press-release-freshers-told-its-not-too-late-for-meningitis-c-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=50811","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Freshers told \u2018it\u2019s not too late\u2019 for meningitis C vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Immunisation experts and university leaders urge first year university students (Freshers) to come forward for a vaccine to protect them against meningococcal C infection following recent reports of cases of meningococcal disease among the student population. <\/p>\n

Provisional figures show that 21 cases of meningococcal disease have been reported in university students since the start of the academic year in September 2014. Only 2 of the cases have been confirmed as due to serogroup C infection, but the total number emphasises the higher risk of disease that occurs in students at this time of year. <\/p>\n

All UK children are offered Meningococcal C (Men C) vaccine to protect against MenC<\/abbr> infection but, as the protection offered by the vaccine in pre-school children can wane, a booster for teenagers at school was introduced and also offered to students from August this year.<\/p>\n

The programme was scheduled to run until the end of October, but NHS England has confirmed the programme will be extended until March 2015. Recent cases of meningitis and septicaemia have resulted in increased awareness of the disease, leading to reports of more Freshers coming forward for the vaccine that protects against the \u2018C\u2019 strain of the disease. <\/p>\n

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation for Public Health England, said: <\/p>\n

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Meningococcal C disease is a rare but life-threatening infection that occurs mainly in children and young adults. Students starting university and mixing with lots of new people, some of whom may unknowingly carry the meningococcal bacteria, are at risk of infection.<\/p>\n

As the protection offered by the infant MenC<\/abbr> vaccine wanes over time we are reminding university Freshers of the importance of getting a booster, even if they received it as a young child.<\/p>\n

Until March 2015, the MenC<\/abbr> booster is available to any student entering university for the first time who has not received a teenage booster and for those under 25 years of age who have never been vaccinated.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t remember, the best thing to do is to check with your doctor. Ideally, Freshers should have the MenC<\/abbr> vaccination before they go away to study, but it\u2019s not too late for students who didn\u2019t receive the vaccine before starting university. Anyone in their first year of university who hasn\u2019t had the booster should arrange to get it as soon as possible, via their university or college health centre or GP<\/abbr>. If in doubt, there is no harm in having an extra dose.<\/p>\n

We should remember that the vaccine will only protect against strains of infection caused by serogroup C, so students should also be aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease and seek medical attention if they have any concerns. It\u2019s important to look out for your mates: check they\u2019re ok if you haven\u2019t seen them for a while.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Symptoms of meningococcal disease and septicaemia can include: <\/p>\n