Media--meningitis despite vaccination
Mum's warning as toddler fights a deadly disease
Donné Restom
One look at the Meningococcal Australia website and you’re immediately struck with the kind of horrifying statistics usually attributed to sensationalist tabloid magazines.
“I’ve seen cases where someone has been well at breakfast – and dead by dinner!” - Dr Clayton Golledge, Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases expert.
But unlike those magazines, the truth behind this disease is not sensationalist at all. It’s just really fast, really fatal and really, truly terrifying.
It all happened so quickly
Eli Fapani is 15 months old. He is currently being treated for meningococcal disease at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Townsville.
Townsville Hospital hospital has confirmed with Kidspot that the Mackay boy is now in a stable condition but for mum, La Vonne Palmer, and her partner, Frank Fapani, it’s been a very long few days.
Eli started screaming with a very high temperature at 9am on Tuesday.
“I thought it could have been teething,” his worried mum told Daily Mercury. “He had a temperature and a long sleep. I gave him a milk bottle and he vomited it back up.”
But while she was cleaning her son up in the shower, Ms Palmer noticed something out of the ordinary. “I looked and he had a blanched rash starting and two tiny purple dots.”
It was then that her partner decided they should go to the hospital.
And thank god they did
For when the trio arrived, they were told by doctors that little Eli may not survive.
“Fast forward 32 hours later and he is in ICU in Townsville on breathing machines, sedated, with tubes hanging out everywhere,” Ms Palmer said.
“He was pale, breathing difficult and the rash started covering him.”
La Vonne Palmer spoke with the Daily Mercury from outside her son’s hospital room in Townsville on Thursday. His breathing machines had just been removed and doctors were waiting for him to wake up.
They squeezed his fingers and toes at regular intervals, checking his reactions.
“He was having difficulty with his breathing, there wasn’t enough oxygen going to his organs,” she explained. “I just want to cuddle him.”
How did this even happen?
Eli Fapani was fully vaccinated when he contracted the disease, but Ms Palmer said she hadn’t been told what strand of meningococcal her son had.
As it turns out, there are five main strains of the meningococcal disease, but while there are vaccines available to protect against all of them, the Australian free National Immunisation Program only subsidises for one.
So, while Eli had been vaccinated, the strain of meningococcal he contracted was not covered by the vaccine.
Here’s how it works:
Meningococcal C conjugate vaccine protects against meningococcal group C disease. It is recommended for all children at the age of 12 months (as part of the free National Immunisation Program) and is also suitable for teenagers and adults.
Meningococcal B now has a vaccine which is available by private script from your doctor. But, this vaccine is not yet subsidised by the Government and each dose can cost over $120. For infants, the vaccine is given in four doses – at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months of age. For children over 12 months, teenagers and adults, the vaccine is given in two doses approximately 2 months apart.
Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine is a combination vaccine and protects against groups A, C, Y and W. It’s generally recommended when travelling overseas to certain areas and is not subsidised by the Government.
Source: Meningococcal Australia
Could my child be at risk?
Meningococcal disease is a rare, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood or membranes lining the spinal cord and brain.
Townsville Public Health Unit (TPHU) director Dr Steven Donohue said that the risk of Eli’s infection spreading to the broader community is very low.
“At any given time, meningococcal bacteria are carried harmlessly at the back of the throat or in the nose in about 10 per cent of the population. While the bacteria can be spread via droplets from the nose or throat during coughing and sneezing, close and prolonged contact with a person who has the bacteria in their nose or throat is usually needed for the bacteria to spread to others”, he said.