The lives of up to 50 young people in England and Wales have been saved since the introduction of the first national vaccination programme against the brain disease, meningitis C. British health authorities believe that the programme will soon eliminate this meningitis strain in these jurisdictions.
Nearly 18 million babies and young people have been vaccinated since the programme was introduced in November 1999 after a rise in the number of cases among teenagers. The Department of Health said yesterday that the success of the programme meant that the disease had "virtually disappeared".
Figures from the Department of Health show that the incidence of cases of the potentially fatal disease has fallen by 90 per cent among the 15/17-year-old age group and by 82 per cent among babies under one year during the programme.
The overall incidence of meningitis C among young people has fallen by 75 per cent. The number of cases in the 15-17 age group in England and Wales has fallen from 50 in 1999 to five in 2000, although one person died from the disease last year. Only six babies under one year contracted the disease last year compared to 32 in 1999.
The Chief Medical Officer for England, Prof Liam Donaldson, described the national programme as a "wonderful achievement" which had dealt a "hammer blow" to meningitis C. But he also urged the parents of any children or young people under 18 who had not yet been vaccinated to take advantage of the government's public health programme.
In Scotland, the number of young people contracting the disease is much smaller than in England and Wales, but there has also been a reduction in cases there of 56 per cent among 15/17-year-olds and of 75 per cent among babies under one year since the programme was introduced. The latest figures for Northern Ireland show that the number of cases in the 15-17 age group has fallen by 56 per cent.
The vaccination programme has cost about £20 million sterling so far and children under two years old and young people aged between 14 and 16 will be targeted this year. About 40 per cent of meningitis cases relate to the C-strain and 60 per cent to the B-strain, which kills more people in Britain and for which there is no vaccine. A B-strain vaccine, which is being developed in Cuba, does not work in the under-five age group and targets a different strain of the disease. Scientists in the UK are now examining a prototype vaccination for the B-strain which has been developed in the Netherlands.