🩺 Meningitis B Update from Forest House Surgery 🩺
You may have seen recent news about a Meningitis B outbreak in Kent and the sad deaths involved. We understand this may be worrying. Health officials have confirmed that the outbreak, originally localised to Kent, is now being treated as a national incident. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is managing the situation with targeted antibiotics and vaccination for affected students in Canterbury.
👉 Important to know:
• Under the NHS immunisation schedule, babies are vaccinated against Meningitis B from 8 weeks up to their second birthday.
• Children are routinely offered the Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine at school in Year 9. If your child is in year 9 and 10 and missed their vaccination, the LLR School Aged Immunisation Service provides catch up clinics, they can be contacted on 0300 3000 007.
• We will invite individuals up to the age of 25 who missed the Year 9 routine MenACWY vaccination at school and have not yet received the vaccine, to ensure they are protected. If you know you haven’t had the vaccine and are in this age bracket then you do not have to wait to be invited to book an appointment.
• Older children, teenagers, and adults are not routinely offered the MenB vaccine on the NHS unless advised as part of a specific outbreak response. If you would like the MenB vaccine privately, it is available through some pharmacies and private clinics.
• If an individual has returned home from Canterbury, Kent and has not already received prophylaxis through UKHSA-coordinated clinics, please get in touch and we will prescribe this.
• In the event of a local outbreak, we follow guidance from UKHSA Health Protection Teams.
⚠️ Symptoms to look out for:
Please see the NHS guidance for signs and symptoms of Meningitis or the picture below.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/meningitis/
We will continue to monitor updates about this national incident and will post any relevant information on our Facebook page as it becomes available.