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New guidelines to improve diagnosis and treatment of meningitis

NEW guidelines to help medical professionals spot and treat meningitis have been revealed today.

NICE hopes the comprehensive advice will ensure the deadly disease is identified promptly to help save lives in the future.

Meningitis kills more under-fives than any other infectious disease despite existing vaccines for Hib, meningitis C and pneumococcal meningitis.

The disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose because its initial symptoms are similar to the cold and flu.

Research charity Meningitis UK warns that it can kill in under four hours, which is why swift diagnosis and treatment are vital.

Kate Rowland, Head of Development at Meningitis UK, said: "While we feel prevention by vaccination is the only way to eradicate the disease, especially given that there can be few or no symptoms at all, these guidelines are an excellent step forward to improve the speed and quality of treatment.

"Unfortunately we're still seeing cases each week where symptoms are being missed so we welcome this comprehensive guidance for medical professionals, which if embraced will hopefully help to save precious lives."

There is still no vaccine to protect against meningitis B - the most common strain of the disease in the UK.

To read more about the new guidelines, visit the NICE website.