- [Narrator] Meningococcal disease
is a rare but devastating illness.
Vaccination and early detection are vital to saving lives,
but diagnosis is difficult.
- It's not a very common infection.
So there are only probably 100
or a couple of hundred cases a year in all of Australia.
And clearly there are a lot of people
that get sick for lots of other reasons,
so differentiating this infection
from other types of infections
is quite difficult clinically.
- [Narrator] You're about to meet people
who have experienced the disease themselves
and others who work on the front line
of meningococcal research.
The aim is to provide a concise, up-to-date summary
and coordinated messaging for all Australians.
There are five common serogroups
of meningococcal disease in Australia.
The number of clinical cases has increased in recent years.
- About half of the disease that we see in Australia
at the moment is due to serogroup B.
Of the other half,
the main burden of disease is because of serogroup W,
with most of the rest made up by Y.
- [Narrator] Meningococcal disease
is caused by a bacterial infection,
spread by bodily fluids
from coughing, sneezing, and kissing.
Those most at risk from the disease are children under five
and people aged 15 to 24.
Smokers, anyone with a suppressed immune system,
or living in crowded accommodation.
- Meningococci love us.
They only live in humans,
they don't live in other animal species,
and they don't live well in the environment.
So you have to come into close contact
with someone who's carrying the bug to get infected.
If we reduce the number of people who are carrying,
then we reduce that risk.
- [Narrator] Clear messaging on the availability
of vaccines is critical.
Lily was vaccinated in 2005 with C strain.
Since then, new strains of meningococcal have emerged.
In 2017, a vaccine covering
four strains of the disease was introduced.
Lily hadn't received the new vaccine.
- People don't understand
that there is more than one strain.
That you're not necessarily safe and vaccinated
if you have that one vaccination in school.
I mean I did, and look at me now.
- We're in a whole new era.
And I wonder how many people are aware of it—
the way that I realise that I was unaware.
- [Narrator] There are now two vaccines available
that cover the five serogroups common in Australia.
The first one is new and covers A, C, W, and Y.
It's free under the National Immunisation Program
for babies aged 12 months now,
and teenagers from 14 to 19 years old
will be able to get it from April 2019.
Anyone else can pay for it privately through their GP.
- So it's a good idea for 20 to 24 year olds
to think about getting vaccination
through their GP and paying for it.
- [Narrator] The other vaccine works differently
to protect against meningococcal B.
It's proven effective in babies.
Available privately from your GP.
In South Australia, due to the high number of cases,
it's provided for eligible children and young people.
- ACWY vaccines are about 80 per cent protective
against the disease in the short term,
for the first couple of years.
And the MenB vaccine similarly
is between 80 and 90 per cent effective
over the first couple of years of immunisation in infants.
So that's a substantial reduction in risk.
- [Narrator] Early detection,
considering the risk profile of the patient,
is the other key to survival.
Rohan and Margaret Playford lived on an army base
and their son Jacob was about to turn three.
Their GP recognised the symptoms.
- She said,
"I haven't seen a case of it before,
"but I think this is what he's got,
"meningococcal, and meningitis.
"And if that's what he has,
"then it can be quite serious and fatal."
- [Narrator] It took only hours
for Jacob's flu-like symptoms
to develop into something much more serious.
- Jacob wasn't one of these kids that got sick.
So for him to be ill was a surprise in itself.
But I just hadn't realised that there was a disease
that could be so invasive,
and kill people so quickly.
- [Narrator] Meningococcal sepsis
is more common and more deadly.
Symptoms include a fever, pain, pale skin,
rapid breathing, nausea or vomiting.
Also, a rash that may start as a spot,
then develop into distinctive purple bruising.
- The first stage really is fever,
and often it's a fairly sudden onset of fever,
often with shakes and what's called rigors,
where it's uncontrollable shaking with the fever.
- [Narrator] Meningococcal disease symptoms include
a stiff or painful neck.
Sensitivity to light.
Confusion or disorientation.
Irritability or agitation in babies.
Sometimes it can occur with variable symptoms.
- So, on Christmas Eve I started getting flu symptoms,
a bit of a sore throat—
nothing too serious.
Fevers at night,
and then when I woke up on Christmas Day
it got a little bit worse.
By about Christmas night I couldn't keep water down,
I was just throwing up.
And then a few hours later,
it got to the point where my back hurt and my neck hurt,
but I thought that was a reaction to the vomiting movement.
And it wasn't until about midnight
that a rash started forming.
But that probably took about 30 minutes to form.
Only 30 minutes.
- I pulled the sheets down
to see where else the rash had appeared.
And you have to understand,
the rash hadn't broken the surface anywhere.
It wasn't a rash that appears on your face,
you know like acne would,
or you know, some sort of external irritant.
You know, this is under the skin.
- [Narrator] Knowing how to diagnose the disease
and giving clear advice on the vaccinations available
are essential.
You may only see a handful of cases in your career,
and acting quickly is critical.
- First of all,
have training so that they can recognise sepsis,
not based on their experience, but on their learning.
Secondly, they can check that the patient
is reviewed again in a few hours if they're just not sure.
Thirdly, and very importantly,
you have to trust what parents tell you.
If parents are telling you
their child is far more ill than they've ever been,
and they're really concerned,
you need to pay respect to that.
- Pretty much since day one,
waking up and being so grateful to be alive,
I wanted to stop people
having to experience what I'd experienced.
I want people to learn about the early signs and symptoms,
and I want them to know about vaccinations.