Disability toll of meningitis

Vaccines offer protection against certain kinds of meningitis

Children hit by meningitis before their first birthday have a 10-fold increased risk of disability by the age of five, compared to healthy children.

Scientists looked at how around 1,700 children who had had meningitis that young had fared.

Two per cent of those who survived the meningitis attack died before the age of five.

Those that survived were at increased risk of severe disability and milder disorders.

Parents and doctors might think children have recovered from meningitis because they don't have severe conditions. But there are subtle problems that can occur

Dr Helen Bedford,
Institute of Child Health

The children who were most at risk had meningitis before they were one month old.

The researchers, from the Institute of Child Health in London, said although it was known children who had meningitis could be seriously affected, it was not known exactly how.

Consequences of meningitis

The children studied suffered an attack of meningitis in infancy between 1985 and 1987.

They were classed as having severe, moderate, mild or no disability.

Those who were severely disabled had conditions such as sight or hearing impairment, and could not attend a mainstream school.

Others had milder disorders, such as middle ear disease and squints.

The researchers looked at a range of disabilities, and compared healthy children with those who had suffered meningitis.

They found virtually none of the healthy children had neuromotor conditions, such as cerebral palsy - but 5% (82) of those affected by meningitis did.

Fifty-five children had severe communication problems or could not speak. All had had meningitis.

Those who were affected as new-borns were significantly more likely to have moderate disability, but were as likely as those who had meningitis after one month to be severely affected.

'Subtle problems'

Dr Helen Bedford, who led the research, told BBC News Online no other study had focused on such a large number of children affected by meningitis.

She said: "Parents and doctors might think children have recovered from meningitis because they don't have severe conditions. But this demonstrates there are subtle problems that can occur."

She added: "This study highlights the potentially devastating consequences of meningitis and should remind clinicians of the importance of careful follow up of all children following an attack.

"The introduction of two highly effective vaccines against Hib and Meningitis C within the last 10years has greatly reduced the burden of death and disability associated with the disease. Research is needed to develop further vaccines and other effective preventive strategies."

'Proof'

A spokesman for the Meningitis Trust said it was encouraging to see scientific proof of the damage meningitis can do.

The charity estimates one in seven people who contract meningitis experiences after-effects.

The trust's vice chairman Dr Jane Wells said: "My own son had meningitis when he was just a toddler, and although he recovered from the disease, he experienced a number of after effects, including a severe balance problem, tiredness and lack of concentration which resulted in learning difficulties.

"Many people who phone our helpline tell us that their loved ones are not the same people as they were before they contracted the disease."

A spokesman for the medical research charity Action Research, which funded the study, said: "Meningitis has been known to be the most common life threatening infection of childhood. As this research has unveiled it's a vicious disease which can leave in its wake not only long-term disabilities but subtle and severe problems with behaviour and performance."

The research is published in the British Medical Journal.