Meningococcal disease: Four cases of dangerous bacterial infection confirmed in past week
Four cases of meningococcal have been confirmed in WA in the past week, health authorities say.
WA Health said two of these cases are children from the same household, while the other two cases are in adults who have no link to the children or each other.
It's renewed calls for the State Government to fund the B strain of the meningococcal vaccine after three of the four new cases were identified as type B, with testing of the fourth case underway.
'All individuals are recovering in hospital,' WA Health said in a statement.
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.
Immunising against MenB is a costly exercise in WA. The jab costs $600 for babies and $400 for teens and is free only for First Nations children and other children with specified conditions.
WA campaigners lobbying for the MenB vaccine to be funded by the State Government say the cost of a vaccine program is a fraction of the ongoing costs of the one in four who are left with permanent disability following the disease.
'Meningitis Centre Australia are deeply concerned that despite advocating strongly to WA Government to have Meningococcal B placed on the state immunisation program we continue to see WA cases rise from a vaccine preventable disease,' Meningitis Centre Australia chief executive Karen Quick said.
'The (MenB) vaccine should be in the arms of our most vulnerable protecting our community, not sitting on shelves.'
Four of the five cases of meningococcal reported in WA this year have been type B.
There were 13 meningococcal cases in WA in 2024, and one death.
For more information, visit
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