Tag: symptoms

Raise awareness for World Meningitis Day

LEADING UK meningitis charity Meningitis Now has launched a new Signs and Symptoms video to help raise awareness of the deadly disease to mark World Meningitis Day on Saturday 24 April.

The charity is also calling on local supporters to raise awareness with friends, family and in their community and help #DefeatMeningitis. 

In a second video released for the annual day, an initiative of the worldwide Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, charity supporters Holly and Lewis Andrews, from Worcester, are also helping to spread the word by telling their story.

In the video Holly and Lewis talk about how they had already watched their son Theo battle bacterial meningitis in 2018. Fortunately, he recovered. When his baby brother Jasper became unwell in March 2020 they couldn’t believe that history seemed to be repeating itself.

“Meningitis can wreck lives and it’s vital that everybody understands how serious it can be for individuals and families. That’s why we’re supporting World Meningitis Day. 

“By telling our story, raising awareness of the signs and symptoms and increasing vaccine knowledge, we hope to raise the profile of this devastating disease,” they said. 

Thankfully, Jasper, who was diagnosed with viral meningitis, also went on to make a good recovery.

Holly added: “I couldn’t get my head around the fact that both our babies had contracted meningitis. I had so many questions, so many whys? What ifs? How could this have happened again? What did we do wrong?

“I reached out to Meningitis Now again, and shared all my concerns and all my questions, and they were great. They told me about a Facebook support group, which has been a huge help for me.

“Both boys are doing fantastic, they’re both so happy, so content and are already the best of friends, they love each other so much.

“We still can’t quite believe that in the last three years meningitis has hit our little family twice and I don’t think you can ever get over the constant worrying and panicking, but I think it’s just something you learn to live with.”

The family’s full story is on the charity’s website at www.meningitisnow.org/support-us/news-centre/meningitis-stories/jaspers-story

Meningitis Now Chief Executive, Dr Tom Nutt, said: “We want to use World Meningitis Day to help spread the word and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms and reinforce that, on World Meningitis Day, as on every other day, we are here to help and support those who need us.

“With the impact of Covid-19 leading to some people missing their immunisations and the number of meningitis cases expected to rise when people start to gather again it’s important that we keep meningitis awareness on everybody’s radar.

“Please join us on 24 April for World Meningitis Day, take action and #DefeatMeningitis.”

Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord, usually caused by bacteria or viruses.Early signs and symptoms can be similar to ‘flu, tummy bug or a hangover and include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain and stomach cramps.

More specific signs and symptoms include fever with cold hands and feet, drowsiness, confusion, pale blotchy skin, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights and a rash, which doesn’t fade under pressure. Symptoms can occur in any order and some may not appear at all.

If someone is ill and getting worse seek urgent medical attention.

Of those who contract bacterial meningitis one in ten will die and one in three survivors will be left with life-changing after-effects.

The awareness day takes place as Meningitis Now launches its new five-year strategy aiming to defeat meningitis in the UK within a generation.

The charity is working towards a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need.

It does this by funding research into vaccines and prevention, raising awareness so people know what to look for and what action to take if they suspect meningitis and rebuilding futures by providing dedicated support to people living with the impact of the disease.

For more information visit www.meningitisnow.org

UK-wide study shows children with gastrointestinal symptoms should be included in COVID-19 testing strategies

‘we may want to consider refining the testing criteria for children to include GI symptoms’

Over 1,000 children from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, known as ‘COVID Warriors’ have had their antibodies measured in the UK-wide trial called ‘Seroprevalence of SARS-Cov-2 infection in healthy children’.

The findings were published on Friday (28 August) as a pre-print on the server medRxiv.

The study is led by Queen’s University Belfast, in partnership with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Northern Ireland and Public Health England.

The aim of the study, which began in May and is ongoing, is to assess the number of children who have had COVID-19, the symptomatology of infection and if those children have antibodies that may be able to fight off the infection.

To conduct the study, the researchers are measuring children’s COVID-19 antibodies via blood tests at baseline, with further tests planned at two months and six months.

The researchers have found that following the first wave of the pandemic, seven per cent of the children tested positive for antibodies, indicating previous infection with COVID-19.

Half of the children with COVID-19 reported no symptoms, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (such as diarrhoea and vomiting) were also more common than cough or changes in the children’s sense of smell or taste, which may have implications for the testing criteria used for children.

The findings also showed young children under 10 years of age were just as likely to have evidence of prior infection as older children, and that asymptomatic children were just as likely to develop antibodies as symptomatic children.

Dr Tom Waterfield, researcher from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and lead on the study said: “Following the first wave of the pandemic in the UK, we have learnt that half of children participating in this study are asymptomatic with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and those with symptoms do not typically have a cough or changes to their smell/taste, with GI upset a far more common symptom.

“This study has shown that we may want to consider refining the testing criteria for children to include GI symptoms.”

Health and Social Care Research & Development Division (HSC R&D Division) of the Public Health Agency plays an ongoing role in supporting the conduct of high-quality health and social care research and has provided funding to support the delivery of this important study.

Professor Ian Young, Chief Scientific Advisor and Director of HSC Research and Development said: “Research studies are vital at this time, and thanks to efforts such as the COVID Warriors study, we now know more about COVID-19 in terms of the exposure of children in the UK to the SARS-CoV-2 virus since the pandemic began.

“These significant findings can now be explored further as this research continues to monitor community transmission in children, to help tackle the spread of COVID-19.”

The study is supported by funding from HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency, The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and is also subsidised by a donation from the Queen’s Foundation thanks to a past graduate of the University through a charitable gift in their will.

It is being delivered in partnership with The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Public Health England, the Ulster Independent Clinic, NHS Glasgow and Greater Clyde, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Update to Coronavirus symptoms

Statement from the four UK Chief Medical Officers

A statement from the four UK Chief Medical Officers on an update to Coronavirus symptoms:

“From today, all individuals should self-isolate if they develop a new continuous cough or fever or anosmia.

“Anosmia is the loss or a change in your normal sense of smell. It can also affect your sense of taste as the two are closely linked.

“We have been closely monitoring the emerging data and evidence on COVID-19 and after thorough consideration, we are now confident enough to recommend this new measure.

“The individual’s household should also self-isolate for 14 days as per the current guidelines and the individual should stay at home for 7 days, or longer if they still have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell or taste.”

Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton
Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride
Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith
Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty

Note:

Changes for the symptomatic individual and their household:

  • Individuals will need to self-isolate immediately if they develop a new continuous cough OR fever OR as of today, a loss or changed sense of normal smell or taste (Anosmia).
  • All members of their household must also self-isolate according to current guidelines, unless the symptomatic individual receives a negative test result.