Meningitis in Babies Awareness Campaign

14 May 2009

Dr Paul Heath, chief investigator on the project at St George’s University of London said: “The early treatment of meningitis in babies appears to vary widely across the UK.  This project will investigate healthcare delivery and look for ways to improve management of meningitis in newborn babies. We hope to develop best practice guidelines that will make a real difference.”

Billie Piper, TV actress who starred in Doctor Who and is a new mother of baby Winston, is supporting the campaign: “Meningitis and septicaemia are every parent’s worst nightmare. MRF’s campaign will raise awareness of these diseases among parents of young babies, which is essential as it can be very difficult to spot meningitis in babies because the symptoms are even less obvious than in older children and adults.  Meningitis develops very quickly and can kill in hours, therefore there just is no time for delayed diagnosis.”

• Babies under 12 months of age run a 38 times higher risk of meningitis than children over one and adults.
• Over 1000 babies under one become ill with meningitis every year in the UK and ROI.
• One in 10 babies who contract meningitis die and one in four are left with after-effects sometimes as severe as deafness, brain damage and amputations.
• Meningitis is very damaging in young babies.
• The opportunities for preventing meningitis in the youngest babies are very limited.
• There are no vaccines against neonatal meningitis Although other meningitis vaccines are reducing meningitis in older children, they cannot be given to babies under 2 months of age.
• The most common cause of neonatal meningitis – Group B Streptococcus – can be prevented in newborn babies by giving antibiotics to at-risk mothers during labour.  Despite longstanding recommendations on preventing Group B Strep, many ‘at-risk’ mothers are never offered antibiotics.  Half of current cases of Group B Strep in newborns could be prevented if guidelines were followed. More information on GBS is also available from GBS Support.
• Better recognition and treatment could reduce death and disability from these diseases. We have launched a new research project led by Dr Paul Heath as part of this campaign which will determine the burden of disease in newborn babies and establish standards of care to improve the outcome. The project aims to identify areas where improvement in the current care of these infants is possible and anticipate that such improvements will result in better outcomes for all infants with meningitis. MRF will then campaign for the implementation of these guidelines into best practice standards across the UK and ROI.
• It can be very difficult to spot meningitis in babies because the symptoms are much less obvious than in older children and adults.  Therefore parents need to know the symptoms – contact MRF to get the free symptoms information.

1. Become a media contact and help raise awareness about meningitis by telling your story to your local media. If you have a child who had meningitis under the age of one or you had it yourself, get in touch with Neil if you would like to be a media contact in your local area Neil Hardman.
2. Ask your local Member of Parliament/ elected representative to support our Early Day Motion / Parliamentary Motion calling for of the Awareness Campaign and specific action for the implementation of consistent guidelines across the country to ensure meningitis in the age group is spotted quickly and treated efficiently.
   
   Scottish Executive motion has been tabled by Sarah Boyack MSP. If you live in Scotland, please ask your local MSP to support this motion.
   
   
   S3M-4800 Sarah Boyack: Meningitis in Babies Awareness Week, 21 to 27 September 2009—That the Parliament welcomes Meningitis Research Foundation’s Meningitis in Babies Awareness Campaign; notes that meningitis and septicaemia are diseases that affect over 97 babies a year in Scotland under the age of 12 months, of whom around one in ten will die and about a quarter are left with life-altering effects that can be as severe as brain damage, deafness, cerebral palsy and multiple amputations; further notes that babies in Scotland under 12 months are 40 times more likely to develop meningitis than children over one and adults and that more young lives can be saved through raising awareness among clinical practitioners and the public of the early warning signs and symptoms, and welcomes a new research project funded by Meningitis Research Foundation to investigate healthcare delivery and look for ways to improve management of meningitis in newborn babies. 

   Supported by: Nanette Milne*, Stuart McMillan*, Johann Lamont*, Rhona Brankin*, Ross Finnie*, Christina McKelvie*, Mike Pringle*, John Park*, George Foulkes*, Ian McKee*, Kenneth Gibson*, Shirley-Anne Somerville*, Karen Gillon*, Jackson Carlaw*

Welsh Assembly Statement of Opinion tabled on 23rd September 2009

Meningitis in Babies Awareness Week. This Assembly:

    * Welcomes Meningitis Research Foundation's awareness campaign;
    * Notes that meningitis and septicaemia are diseases that affect over 1000 babies a year in the UK;
    * Notes that babies under 12 months are most at risk from developing meningitis;
    * Recognises that treatment of meningitis in babies varies widely across the UK;
    * Welcomes a new research project funded by Meningitis Research Foundation to investigate healthcare delivery and urges the Welsh Assembly Government to support uniform management of meningitis in newborn babies in hospitals across Wales and ensure that potential measures to prevent meningitis are fully implemented

Raised By: Nick Ramsay

Subscribers: Trish Law; Lorraine Barrett; Nick Bourne; Peter Black; Alun Davies; Paul Davies; Angela Burns; Jonathan Morgan; Val Lloyd; Brynle Williams; Janet Ryder; Mohammad Asghar; Rhodri Glyn Thomas; Chris Franks; Leanne Wood; Helen Mary Jones; Nerys Evans; Bethan Jenkins; Gareth Jones; Dai Lloyd.

3. Host a members' dinner to mark 20 years of progress in our fight against meningitis and septicaemia. Contact Iain if you would like to host a dinner and he can send you all the material required Iain Elliott. We will then promote the dinner to your local media so you can tell them your story and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis.