Children may be at a higher risk of serious complications with meningitis, as the majority of parents think they have had them safely vaccinated.<\/p>\n
A survey commissioned by the charity Meningitis UK, shockingly found that 51 per cent of parents wrongly believed their child to be fully protected against the killer disease.<\/p>\n
A staggeringly high 62 per cent of people are still not aware that there is no vaccine for the most common and deadly form of the brain bug – meningitis B.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is only an existing vaccine for Hib, meningitis C and pneumococcal meningitis as part of the childhood immunisation programme.<\/p>\n
The survey also found that a majority 73 per cent of parents would want their child to have a vaccination for meningitis B should it be found.<\/p>\n
The charity is concerned that this lack of knowledge can lead parents to miss the warning symptoms, putting little lives at greater risk.<\/p>\n
Meningitis kills more children under the age of five than any other disease and it can kill in less than four hours.<\/p>\n
Charity chief executive Steve Dayman said: “We are really concerned by these results.<\/p>\n
“If a parent wrongly believes their child is protected, they could become complacent and not react quickly enough when the early signs of the disease are developing.<\/p>\n
“A delay in seeking treatment could be fatal because meningitis can kill in under four hours.<\/p>\n
“These results have made us even more determined to find a vaccine to eradicate all forms of meningitis and protect future generations.”<\/p>\n
Meningitis UK is offering the public free symptoms information packs to help raise awareness.<\/p>\n
These include a leaflet with all the facts and frequently asked questions, plus a \u2018Check the Symptoms’ fridge magnet and a handy wallet-sized symptoms card.<\/p>\n
To order your free symptoms information pack, please call 0117 373 73 73 or visit: www.meningitisUK.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Children may be at a higher risk of serious complications with meningitis, as the majority of parents think they have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n