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Mass meningitis vaccines for Balclutha school

20 August 2002

The biggest meningococcal immunisation programme in recent New Zealand history will start on Thursday, South Otago High School parents were told last night.
 

About 200 concerned parents turned out to hear Public Health South medical officer of health John Holmes give background information about the potentially fatal disease and how they plan to deal with a local outbreak which has seen six reported cases so far.

Senior pupils were given antibiotics today, and tomorrow is the turn of third and fourth formers. Health officials will be back at the school on Thursday to start vaccinating the entire roll of 429 pupils and about 40 staff.

Vaccine has been sent from manufacturers in Australia and Belgium and is expected to arrive in Dunedin tomorrow morning. Parental consent forms will be issued tomorrow and these are to be returned to school by tomorrow.

"No form, no vaccination," Dr Holmes said. The vaccine would take between seven and 10 days to build up immunity in the body. It would then protect that person for up to three years.

At this stage, there are no plans to vaccinate the staff and pupils of neighbouring Rosebank Primary School even though two suspected meningitis cases have been reported there.

Dr Holmes said because those two people came from the same family, they were treated as only one case and not an outbreak.

If another Rosebank pupil, not related to those children, was detected, health officials would reassess the situation. Antibiotics would be offered to all Rosebank staff and pupils today.

Dr Holmes said the vaccination programme was a safe and effective method of protecting pupils and staff against the chances of contracting the potentially fatal disease.

He also said only three of the six reported cases have been confirmed as meningococcal disease group C. He expects test results from the other three later today.

Before the meeting, South Otago High board of trustees chairman and father of four high school children, David Tait, said he was concerned about the health scare.

Two of his older children had attended the school formal ball 10 days ago and they had since displayed influenza symptoms. "Everyone is keeping a close eye on their kids at the moment, which is understandable."

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