AN ELDERLY adult is recovering in hospital after being diagnosed with meningococcal disease, bringing the number of cases in WA so far this year to 25.
The Health Department said there had been 25 cases reported to date in 2018, comprising 18 serogroup W, five serogroup B and two serogroup Y meningococcal infections.
The latest case was the W serogroup.
A total of 46 cases were notified in WA in 2017, double the number reported in 2016 and the most in any year since 2005.
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READ NOWAs a result of the increase in serogroup W and Y disease in WA over the past three years, a funded state-wide meningococcal ACWY vaccination program for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years started in 2017.
In 2018 and 2019, the program is targeting incoming Year 10 students in schools, while other individuals aged 15 to 19-years-old can continue to access free catch-up vaccination through other immunisation providers.
The State-funded meningococcal ACWY vaccine program was expanded to include children aged 1to 4-years-old in January this year, and vaccines for young children are currently available from GPs and other childhood immunisation providers.