WA Health issues meningococcal warning as one adult recovers in hospital with the bacterial infection
WA Health said an adult was diagnosed with meningococcal serogroup B and is recovering in hospital on Tuesday.
This is the sixth case reported in WA in 2025. Five of the six cases of meningococcal in WA this year have been type B.
Meningococcal disease is uncommon, but can quickly become life-threatening if the bacterial infection gets into the bloodstream or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain.
But it's not easily spread from person to person.
The bacterium is in droplets from the nose or throat and is usually spread by coughing or sneezing during close or prolonged contact.
While about 10-20 per cent of the population carry the bacteria in the back of the nose or throat at any given time, meningococcal bacteria don't survive more than a few seconds in the environment.
Symptoms of invasive meningococcal disease can include high fevers, chills, headaches, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, or severe muscle and joint pain.
Authorities say it is harder to detect in very young children, so fever, pale or blotchy complexion, vomiting, lethargy (inactivity), poor feeding and a rash are important signs.
There are several strains, or serogroups, of meningococcal. The most common are types A, B, C, W and Y.
A combined vaccine for A, C, W and Y strains is free via the National Immunisation Program for all children aged 12-months, but the immunisation to protect against the B strain is not.
Aboriginal children can access the MenACWY vaccine as early as six weeks and up to 12-months due to its higher prevalence among the First Nations population. They can also receive the MenB vaccine up to two-years-old.
There were 13 meningococcal cases in WA in 2024, and one death.
For more information, visit
HealthyWA
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