A YOUNG child is recovering in hospital after being diagnosed with meningococcal disease.
The Department of Health today reported the child was diagnosed with meningococcal serogroup B disease.
While a vaccine to protect against the serogroup C type of meningococcal disease, which is now very rare, continues to be provided free to children at 12 months of age, a vaccine against serogroup B meningococcal infection is only available on prescription.
There have been 26 meningococcal cases reported to date in 2018, comprising 18 serogroup W, six serogroup B and two serogroup Y meningococcal infections.
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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.
The State-funded meningococcal ACWY vaccine program was expanded to include children aged one to four-years-old in January this year.