There have been renewed calls for the Meningococcal B vaccine to be included on the National Immunisation Program, following the death of an Australian university exchange student in Vienna.
Perth student, Alexander Philogenes, 21, died two weeks ago after contracting the deadly disease.
In 2024, the Meningococcal B strain made up 80 per cent of all Meningococcal cases in Australia, according to the Interim Australian Centre for Disease Control.
Meningitis Centre Australia CEO Karen Quick said that meningococcal testing is not always certain, and meningococcal B cases could be higher than official data shows.
“There is also a large amount of unknown, in that the testing wasn’t able to identify the strains,” she said.
“Yet when talking to the pathologists involved in that, they say that, more than likely, they were meningococcal B as well.
“So the number is probably a lot higher than what we are seeing.”
Data: Interim Australian Centre for disease control and NSW Health Notifiable Conditions Information Management System
Mrs Quick said that free access to the vaccine should not vary state-by-state and should be included under the National Immunisation Program.
“Vaccination and protection shouldn’t come down to your postcode, or your income,” she said.
“The inequality means that some of our kids will survive and some of our kids won’t, purely because of where they live or how much their parents earn.”
Source: The Immunisation Coalition
University of Wollongong student Maggie Berry, who is about to move to the United Kingdom to study, said she is concerned after hearing the news of Mr Philogenes’s death and the recent meningococcal B outbreaks in the UK.
“That is a very rude awakening,” she said
“I suppose it is a bit frightening to think about.”
Miss Berry said that worrying about meningococcal B and the cost of vaccination adds unnecessary stress to an already overwhelming move.
“When you’re moving overseas, even if it’s temporarily, it is still a huge commitment … so adding that on with the cost definitely isn’t a good feeling,” she said.
Mrs Quick said that aside from getting the vaccine, the only other way for young people to protect themselves is to look out for symptoms of Meningococcal B.
“All we can say … is make sure you know the signs and symptoms,” she said.
Source: The Immunisation Coalition
Former Illawarra resident and meningococcal B survivor Claudia Gill told News.com that acting as soon as any of the symptoms present is crucial.
“It comes on so quickly,” she said.
“If I had the rash earlier, then we would have acted earlier, but that’s why it’s so important to know all the symptoms.”
Weeks on from Mr Phiologenes’s death, the conversation around meningococcal B continues to intensify.
Additional reporting: Harrison Mellare and Caprice Tesoriero.
Feature image: Alexander Philogene with his uncle Chris Jarmer (Instagram/@chrisjarmer)
