AN IMMUNISATION programme to tackle the most virulent strain of meningitis has been welcomed by the borough's public health experts.

A new vaccine giving lifelong immunisation against the C strain of the disease will be introduced in the autumn.

The C strain killed 150 people - mainly children and young people - in Britain last year and is often associated with outbreaks in schools and colleges.

Although it is responsible for fewer meningitis cases than the B strain - 40 per cent each year are group C whereas 60 per cent are group B - it causes more deaths.

Since the beginning of 1998 in Trafford, group C infection has been responsible for five cases of meningococcal disease and one death.

Welcoming the immunisation programme, director of public health Dr Christine Pickin, says: "This is an excellent opportunity to eliminate group C meningococcal disease, which is responsible for 40 per cent of cases of meningococcal diseases in this country and is one of the most important causes of death in children and young people."

Subject to availability, an immunisation programme will get underway in the autumn, with the highest risk groups being immunised before the start of winter. The vaccine will be made available for:

Babies when they get their routine diptheria, tetanus. whooping cough and Hib vaccination at two, three and four months;

Children receiving their measles, mumps and rubella jab at around 13 months;

Children over four months and less than one year who will be recalled for immunisation;

Young people aged 15, 16 and 17.

Children over one and under five will be covered in the second phase which, depending on supplies, should start early next year, and other age groups will follow as stocks of the vaccine become available.

The vaccine will not be available for first year students this year.

But as they are known to be vulnerable in the first weeks of term, especially in halls of residence, supplies of the existing short-term vaccine against the C strain will be made available to anyone who wants it.

Dr Rosemary McCann, immunisation co-ordinator at Salford and Trafford Health Authority, says: "This new vaccine is very welcome but parents and young people need to remain vigilant to the signs and symptoms."

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