News
Back to News Archive
Conference focuses on current and future treatment and prevention of meningitis
17 November 2005
Meningitis and septicaemia remain important worldwide causes of death and disability in all age groups, and in many countries, including the UK, they are the most common cause of invasive bacterial disease in young children and adolescents.
To address these issues, national charity Meningitis Research Foundation's 2005 international conference, Meningitis and Septicaemia in Children and Adults: Burden of Illness, Management and Prospects for Prevention, will bring together experts from around the world in critical care, infectious diseases, epidemiology, vaccinology and molecular medicine from both paediatric and adult settings.
The first day of the conference, taking place at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, on November 23 and 24, looks at the burden of disease, the clinical management of meningitis and septicaemia, and current and future possibilities for treatment.
On day two, the focus shifts to existing and in-development vaccines, with particular emphasis on the worldwide control of pneumococcal disease using existing vaccines. The possible introduction of an infant pneumococcal vaccine into the routine childhood vaccine schedule in the UK1 will be covered in the morning's presentations, while, in the afternoon, Dr Thomas Cherian of the World Health Organisation will be chairing a session called Control of Pneumococcal Disease: Ensuring Equitable Access to Life-Saving Vaccines.
The afternoon will be rounded off with a view of future vaccines for global prevention of bacterial meningitis from the perspective of both pharmaceutical and public health laboratory settings, including the Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections; GlaxoSmithKline; Wyeth Vaccines; sanofi pasteur; Chiron; and the Netherlands Vaccine Institute.
And the Foundation is delighted that Dr David Salisbury CB, Principal Medical Officer at the Department of Health, has agreed to present the conference's closing remarks.
Notes to Editor:
1 Hospital Episode Statistics show that each year in England alone there are nearly 400 cases of pneumococcal meningitis and septicaemia in the under 5s and some 30 young lives are lost to these diseases.
A vaccine to protect against pneumococcal meningitis was licensed in Europe in 2001.
In October 2004, Government advisers (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) gave their support in principle to the introduction of this vaccine into the routine childhood immunisation programme, but so far no timetable for introduction has been announced. This vaccine has been used in the US since 2000 and not only has the incidence of pneumococcal disease in youngsters dropped dramatically, it has also had an impact on the older population - herd immunity.
Meningitis Research Foundation wants to see a firm commitment to dealing with the problem of pneumococcal meningitis and septicaemia in all infants and young children, and a clear timetable for the introduction of pneumococcal vaccination into the routine immunisation programme.