Our Daughter Died From Meningitis After Starting Uni - A Jab Would Have Saved Her

A celebrated and sporty teen who made a "big impression" astatine her caller assemblage died wrong weeks of starting, aft contracting meningitis.

Meg Draper was 18 and had joined swimming and netball teams, but died successful October from meningococcal type B meningitis (MenB) while studying physiotherapy successful Bournemouth.

Her parents, from Pontypool, Torfaen, and nan National Union of Students UK are now calling for a vaccine, aliases booster, to beryllium made disposable to young adults connected nan NHS.

The MenB vaccine - nan only protection against nan bacteria, which makes up 82.6% of nan meningitis cases successful nan UK - is only disposable connected nan NHS for young children, arsenic they are seen arsenic nan astir astatine risk. This protects for a mates of years, and for older children, a booster aliases vaccine costs astir £220 privately.

⁠While MenB is described arsenic "rare" successful those complete four, location is simply a second, little communal highest successful teenagers - which has led to calls for older children to beryllium fixed nan vaccine routinely arsenic well.

The Welsh authorities takes proposal from nan Joint Committee connected Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which concluded successful 2014 a regular jab for young adults was "not cost-effective".

Meg was immunised against meningitis A, C, W and Y, pinch her parents saying it was "horrific" to find retired a abstracted MenB vaccination existed.

The leader of kindness Meningitis Now described it arsenic a "tragedy" young group are not routinely protected pinch it.

Meg's mum Helen Draper said they would person paid nan £220 to person her vaccinated privately "in a heartbeat", adding: "We've spoken to hundreds of group who person reached retired and we're yet to find a azygous personification that was aware.

"They're successful nan aforesaid position arsenic we are.

"That really frightened america because astatine first we thought we'd dropped nan ball, that we'd missed something."

Meningitis is nan swelling of nan meninges, nan tissues surrounding nan encephalon and spinal cord, and it is usually caused by a bacterial infection.

University students are peculiarly astatine consequence because they operation pinch tons of caller people, and nan germs that origin meningitis are dispersed successful akin ways to nan communal acold done sneezing and coughing.

Inspired by nan curen of an wounded she suffered days earlier trialling for nan Wales netball under-17s team, Meg landed what her parents called her "dream" spot astatine Bournemouth University, wherever she studied physiotherapy.

Her mother described her arsenic "sporty, gregarious, outgoing, really charismatic, and chatty", adding: "She conscionable loved being astir group and group genuinely loved to beryllium astir her.

"She had this zest for life that was compelling. We were successful awe of her."

Meg deed it disconnected pinch her flatmates and was enjoying nan societal broadside of university, joining swimming and netball teams.

But 1 nighttime she told her parents she was emotion lethargic - wrong 24 hours her symptoms, including a fever, headache, vomiting and a rash connected her stomach, worsened and she went to hospital.

She died days later.

Her mother said Meg was vaccinated astatine 14, during nan coronavirus lockdown, against nan A, C, W and Y strains of meningitis.

Mrs Draper and hubby Lee thought this meant their girl was protected against each types of meningitis, including MenB.

"The measurement it was portrayed to america was, that it was nan meningitis vaccination, we weren't alert location was different one," nan 45-year-old said.

Meg had made tons of friends, pinch her mother adding: "Even astatine her funeral, they had to coachload them each up from Bournemouth.

"To think, she was only location for 5 weeks, but nan magnitude of friends she had astatine assemblage - we couldn't get complete really impactful she'd been successful specified a short abstraction of time."

Meningitis is caused by different types of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and different pathogens, and awesome bacterial strains see meningococcal types A, B, C, W, X and Y.

It tin impact anyone, but is astir communal successful babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

It tin origin life-threatening septicaemia and consequence successful imperishable harm to nan encephalon aliases nerves.

Over nan past year, MenB accounted for 82.6% (313 of 378) of each cases, followed by MenW (43, 11.3%), MenY (13, 3.4%), and MenC (0.8%), according to UK authorities figures.

Babies are astatine precocious consequence of MenB because they do not person immune protection from antibodies, pinch nan illness uncommon successful those complete four.

Teenagers are much apt to transportation nan germs successful their throats than different property groups, which is why there is this second, smaller, highest of disease successful that property group.

The MenB vaccine is offered to babies successful 3 doses by nan NHS, astatine 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 1 years old. If a kid has missed immoderate of nan vaccines, they tin still person it connected nan NHS astatine up to 2 years old.

Symptoms see a terrible headache, precocious somesthesia and a rash.

With early test and antibiotic treatment, galore group will make a afloat recovery.

About 1 successful 4 of those who past is near pinch semipermanent problems, specified arsenic amputation, deafness, epilepsy and learning difficulties.

"We can't bring Meg backmost but what we tin make judge is that her decease isn't successful vain," said Mrs Draper.

"For us, her bequest successful doing truthful is everything."

They want much consciousness for parents, and nan MenB vaccine disposable to young adults connected nan NHS.

The Welsh authorities bases its vaccination argumentation connected JCVI recommendations, and implements them done NHS Wales.

"The JCVI advises each governments of nan UK connected vaccination and immunisation matters, including eligibility, safety, and vaccine schedules," a spokesperson added.

Chief executive of kindness Meningitis Now Dr Tom Nutt said MenB tin beryllium fatal for arsenic galore arsenic 1 successful 10 group affected, adding "when it strikes it tin termination wrong 24 hours".

"The truth location is simply a vaccination disposable against MenB that could protect this group of young adults, we deliberation that's a spot of a tragedy," he added.

"Prevention is amended than cure, it's acold amended to protect to thief patient lives, to thief support families together and debar nan symptom of bereavement and disablement which is caused by meningitis.

"It's a bully finance successful position of keeping group patient and redeeming lives."

A spokesperson for nan National Union of Students UK said location is "simply not capable awareness" for young group starting university, adding nan NHS should connection nan vaccine.

"While we each expect nan inevitable freshers flu, location are deadly viral strains besides circulating which students request to beryllium protected against, and alert of," they said.

"The Meningitis B vaccine should beryllium offered connected nan NHS - location should ne'er beryllium a costs obstruction to life-saving vaccines.

"And until then, universities and colleges themselves should see offering it to their students arsenic nary lives should beryllium mislaid to a preventable virus."

They added immoderate Bournemouth University students who are affected by nan news should interaction nan student national for support.

A spokesperson for Bournemouth University said Meg "made a large impression" and "her nonaccomplishment has been felt deeply".

"We counsel each our students earlier they subordinate america really they tin get vaccinated against strains of meningitis and nonstop them reminders passim nan year," they said.

"Our proposal emphasises that they request to activity aesculapian thief instantly if they show immoderate symptoms, moreover if they person had a vaccination."

The assemblage person been moving play walk-in clinics connected field for nan MenA, C, W and Y strains.

The UK Health Security Agency and section wellness teams said activities connected field could continue, and nan consequence of transmission is low.

Meg's adjacent contacts person been offered antibiotics to forestall nan dispersed of infection.