BOOZED-up Schoolies letting rip on Australia’s Gold Coast are being warned they could be spreading a killer disease by KISSING too many strangers.
The warning follows a sharp rise in potentially-deadly meningococcal disease (the bacterial form of meningitis) with local docs handling double the number of cases than usual.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Professor Robert Booy, a founder of Meningococcal Australia, said the disease can be spread by unvaccinated teens in crowds where there is close contact like “deep kissing.”
“The risk of contracting meningococcal can increase when teenagers older than 15 are in proximity to each other for a lengthy time, particularly in an environment like Schoolies,” he warned.
However, he admits asking young people to abstain from getting it on during the Schoolies break is not realistic.
Prof Booy warned that up to 10 per cent of patients who contracted meningococcal disease did not survive – even after getting treatment.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Permanent disability affected between 10 and 20 per cent of survivors and included brain damage, hearing loss, learning difficulties, scarring and amputations.
“If teenagers miss out on the school vaccination program, they can reduce the risk of contracting a preventable disease and indirectly protect the wider population by visiting their GPs for vaccination, which is considered safe and effective, and is recommended,” he said.
Dr Satyamurthy Anuradha, a public health specialist with the Gold Coast Public Health Unit, admitted she was also concerned about Schoolies this year.
“Schoolies is a place where teenagers have intimate contact with each other, which is one of the risk factors for meningococcal disease. It’s something that teenagers and parents have to be aware of,” she said.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
“Teenagers have a much higher rate of carrying the bacteria than others and they can easily pass it on with prolonged, intimate contact if they haven’t had the ACWY vaccine,” she warned.
“We’re strongly advocating that all 15-19-year-olds get the vaccine. If they haven’t done so yet, we urge them to do so after Schoolies at one of our clinics or at a GP surgery,” she said.
“If they are able to access the vaccine during Schoolies, by all means do so, but I don’t think they would want to do this.”
Meningococcal disease – the facts
- In the past decade there have been up to 1,300 cases of meningococcal disease in the UK
- It is still the most common cause of bacterial meningitis
- Most people will make a good recovery, but it can rapidly result in death and leave people with severe after-effects
- Five to 10 per cent of cases will result in death
- Of those who survive, 15% can be left with severe and disabling effects.
- Effects include loss of hearing and sight, brain damage, damage to major organs, loss or digits and limbs
- It can strike at any age, but most cases occur in babies and young children.
- The next most vulnerable group is teenagers and young people
Yesterday we revealed how shocking footage showed out-of-their heads Schoolies risking life and limb after bingeing on drink and drugs.
Paramedics have already treated more than 150 school leavers for conditions including serious intoxication, drug side effects and horror injuries during the first weekend of celebrations.
Police have also made dozens of arrests since the break started.