There are two vaccinations against meningococcal disease - one that protects against A, C, W and Y bacteria and one that protects against B bacteria. Photo: Andrey Popov 123RF
Meningitis prevention advocates are urging the government to make vaccinations against the disease free for all students under 25, as New Zealand marks World Meningitis Day.
There are different types of meningococcal bacteria, including A, B, C, W, and Y.
In New Zealand, most meningococcal disease is caused by group B bacteria.
As well as septiciaemia (blood poisoning), it can also lead to meningitis, a life-threatening infection of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms to look out for are a stiff neck, fever, headache, eyes being more sensitive to light, and confusion.
The MenB vaccine is free for all pēpi, tamariki under five and rangatahi aged 13 to 25 years in their first year of certain close-living situations, such as boarding schools and university halls of residence.
Those rangatahi are also eligible for the MenACWY vaccine.
But Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand chair Gerard Rushton said that that criteria was too narrow.
"We're calling on the government to widen that criteria, so every [student] can have access to those vaccines."
Photo: Meningitis Foundation / Supplied
Rushton said Māori and Pasifika made up between 50 and 70 percent of cases, but the current policy discriminated against young people in those groups.
"Take the secondary schools in South Auckland and Northland ... none of those children actually qualify for a free vaccination, and we're questioning why that is. We know this vaccine works, it will save lives, and protect our youth."
He and his wife Claire lost their 16-year-old daughter Courtenay in 2014, after she contracted meningitis.
He said it was a "horrendous" disease.
"The reality of meningitis is that it can kill in 24 hours, and that is why it's essential we have a vaccination programme, free to everyone, because treatment often comes too late."
It was important to get vaccinated against the different strains, he said.
"There's two sets of vaccinations, you need to make you're protected against [strains] A,C,W and Y and also Meningitis B. The MenB vaccination requires two shots, eight weeks apart."
He said too often, there was a lack of awareness. In one case, 18 months ago, a first-year student in a hall of residence at Canterbury University contracted meningitis.
"She had got MenACWY from her doctor but she wasn't offered the MenB vaccination and she ended up getting Meningitis B."
The woman survived, he said, but "the underlying issue in all cases is a lack of awareness".
The cost of a meningitis vaccination programme was "easily funded" by the savings made for the long-term care of survivors, he said.
"Forty percent of those who get it have a life-long disability. The average cost of a life-long disability is between $4-6 million. If you save two people a year from having a disability you'll pay for a vaccination programme for the whole of New Zealand."
On Saturday night, nearly 20 national landmarks from Invercargill to Whangārei will turn purple, in honour of World Meningitis Day.
The Foundation has also launched Te Pukapuka Kauruku Kiriuhi Uakakā, The Meningitis Foundation Colouring Book - which has also been translated into te reo Māori - to educate parents and increase vaccination rates of children up to six years of age.
