Meningitis

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Vaccines

 
Do vaccines against meningitis already exist?

The good news is that vaccines exist to protect against some forms of meningitis. Significant progress has been made over the last 20 years with the introduction of the Hib vaccine in 1992, the Meningitis C vaccine in 1999 and most recently a vaccine to protect against Pneumoccoccal Meningitis in 2006 into the routine immunisation programme in the UK.

However, there is still no vaccine to protect against all forms of meningitis and associated diseases, including the most common in the UK - Meningococcal Group B and Streptococcal Group B.

Vaccine Information

Information about specific vaccines can be found under the following sections:

• Routine Vaccinations offered in the UK: Meningococcal Group C, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Pneumococcal.
• Non-routine Vaccinations available in the UK: Quadrivalent A/C/W135/Y, Bivalent A/C and BCG.
• Future Vaccines including Meningococcal Group B, Streptococcal Group B and improving existing vaccines.
• ACWY Vaccine needed for pilgrims travelling to Hajj/Umrah.

Bacterial meningitis and septicaemia can kill in under 4 hours. The bacteria multiply in the body with alarming speed, overwhelming a person's immune system in hours. Many of the early symptoms also appear flu-like, making it extremely difficult to diagnose, and sometimes people show no symptoms at all, which is why vaccines are so vital.