Meningococcal infection is an important cause of illness globally. There are an estimated 1. The bacteria that cause meningococcal disease are common and live naturally at the back of the nose and throat. At any one time, one in ten of us carries the bacteria for weeks or months without ever knowing that they are there 7 , and for most of us this is harmless because, fortunately, most of us have natural resistance. They are passed from person to person through prolonged close contact: coughing, sneezing, breathing each other's breath or by kissing someone who is carrying the germ 8.
The bacteria do not naturall live or survive outside for long outside the human boday. Only a small fraction of people who are exposed to meningococcal bacteria fall ill with the disease. The illness occurs when the bacteria break through the protective lining of the nose and throat, and enter the bloodstream.
Once in the bloodstream, they multiply rapidly, doubling their numbers every 30 minutes. In some people the bacteria cross the blood-brain barrier, causing meningitis. In others, overwhelming septicaemia happens so quickly that there is no time for meningitis to develop. When meningococcal bacteria invade your bloodstream, they produce poisons.
This makes you feel ill and feverish, and the poisons begin to attack the lining of your blood vessels, so that they leak. As blood fluids leak from blood vessels throughout your body, the smaller volume of blood that is left is not enough to carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
Your lungs have to work harder, and in order to maintain circulation to your vital organs, your circulatory system reduces the blood supply to your hands and feet and the surface of your skin. This is how symptoms of septicaemia such as pale skin, cold hands and feet and rapid breathing develop 9. As blood leaks into the surrounding tissues, this shows up on the skin as the typical non-blanching meningococcal rash.
In most cases, rapid treatment stops the disease from progressing any further. But sometimes the patient becomes very seriously ill by the time treatment starts, and the circulatory system is so overloaded that the patient collapses and needs urgent and aggressive resuscitation.
In very bad cases, septicaemia also causes blood clots to form throughout the network of tiny blood vessels in skin and muscle tissue. Tissue that is starved of oxygen this way dies and becomes blackened. This can cause widespread scarring, and in extreme cases can lead to amputation.
This can also happen within vital organs, like your kidneys, causing kidney failure in very severe cases. In the worst cases, even the best medical treatment cannot stop the disease from progressing and the patient dies. In recent decades, about one in five cases of meningococcal septicaemia has been fatal 10 , but quicker and better treatment are improving the chances of surviving When you get meningitis, bacteria that have invaded your bloodstream move across to infect your 'meninges' - the membranes that surround and protect your brain and spinal cord.
The meninges are filled with a liquid called cerebrospinal fluid CSF , which is there to bathe the brain and cushion it against physical damage when you hit your head. Meningococcal bacteria can multiply freely in CSF, and there they release poisons, causing inflammation and swelling in the meninges and the brain tissue itself. This increases pressure on your brain, producing symptoms of meningitis such as headache, stiff neck and dislike of bright lights.
As the disease progresses, you become drowsy, confused, and delirious, you may have seizures and eventually lose consciousness. In very bad cases, meningitis injures or destroys nerve cells and causes brain damage.
This is due to the raised pressure on your brain and the toxic effect of the bacterial poisons on your brain cells, as well as reduced blood supply and formation of blood clots in blood vessels of the brain. All of these things can lead to after effects and disabilities such as epilepsy, learning difficulties, behavioural problems, problems with coordination or speech and movement disorders.
These effects may be temporary, but in some cases will be permanent. Sometimes, bacterial poisons also damage part of the inner ear the cochlea , causing deafness. Meningococcal meningitis is much less likely to produce long-term neurological damage and deafness than other kinds of bacterial meningitis. About one person in twenty with meningococcal meningitis dies from the disease Septicaemia and meningitis affect the body in different ways, so they have different sets of symptoms.
About half of meningococcal disease occurs in children aged less than five years 13 , and babies are at the highest risk because their immune systems have not yet fully developed. There is a second, smaller increase in risk for older adolescents, mainly for social and behavioural reasons People with immune deficiencies, such as those without a spleen, are also at a higher risk from infection.
In rare cases, the bacteria grow rapidly causing serious illness in both children and adults. The meningococcal vaccine helps prevent most strains of meningococcus bacteria. For Patients. Contact the Division of Infectious Diseases Fax The toxins stop the important flow of oxygen to the organs including the skin and the surrounding tissues causing purple spots which can develop into something that looks like a rash.
This is also known as blood poisoning and URGENT medical attention is needed as the person is in a critical condition. The damage that the toxins cause in the bloodstream and eventually to the organs and limbs can result in the following:. If you would like more information on this you can download our brochures and pamphlets , find out more about vaccines , call us Monday-Friday on or email us at info meningitis.
When the bacteria travels through the bloodstream and affects the meninges the lining between the skull and brain which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid it becomes meningitis or a purple rash may develop causing septicaemia Australia is very progressive with its vaccines and has the ACWY vaccination on its National Immunisation Program. Growing the bacteria confirms the diagnosis and will help to determine which type of bacteria is causing the infection.
If meningococcal disease is suspected, an antibiotic usually penicillin is given immediately by injection. People with meningococcal disease are always admitted to hospital and may require admission to an intensive care unit.
The sooner people receive treatment, the less damage the disease may cause. It is important to remember that this is an unpredictable infection that can progress very rapidly, despite the best treatment. Most people, such as school and work friends who have had contact with an affected person, do not need antibiotics. Very close contacts of an infected person are offered a short course of 'clearance' antibiotics in accordance with Australian guidelines.
These people are usually identified and contacted by the Department of Health and Human Services or the treating doctor. They are not a treatment for meningococcal disease, nor do they necessarily prevent anyone from developing the disease. Immunisation against meningococcal bacteria is the best protection against meningococcal disease. It is important to know that even if you have had meningococcal disease, you may not develop lifelong immunity and are still advised to be immunised against further recurrence of this life-threatening disease.
Immunisation against meningococcal serogroups ACWY disease is available for free in Victoria as part of the National Immunisation Program schedule for:.
The ACWY vaccination is available for purchase by prescription for anyone wishing to protect themselves or their family. This vaccine is recommended for high risk groups as identified above.
Immunisation against meningococcal serogroup B disease is available on private prescription, but is not available free under the National Immunisation Program schedule. Meningococcal serogroup B vaccine commonly causes fever in children younger than two years of age and skin reactions at the injection site.
Paracetamol is recommended 30 minutes before or as soon as practicable after meningococcal B vaccine for children younger than two years of age. Two further doses of paracetamol are recommended six hours apart, regardless of whether fever is present.
Meningococcal vaccines are not usually recommended for women who are pregnant, but they might be given if your doctor thinks your situation puts you at risk of the disease.
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