EVERY year at this time, the number of cases of Meningococcal Meningitis and Septicaemia rises dramatically and sometimes the outcome is devastating.

Recently I have become increasingly concerned about the number of cases of Meningococcal Meningitis and Septicaemia reported in newspapers countrywide which have been misdiagnosed either by GPs or hospital casualty doctors, and the outcome has been catastrophic.

Last month alone, we had contact with 10 families from different parts of the country here at our fund-raising office in Bristol. All of them had lost loved ones who had been misdiagnosed in the preceding six weeks somewhere within the health care delivery system. My growing impression is that some health professionals are still not distinguishing between the common symptoms of Meningococcal Septicaemia.

I also believe that the general public are under the misconception that, once their children receive the Meningitis C vaccine, they are protected against all forms of Bacterial Meningitis. Everyone should be aware that there is still no vaccine to protect against the most common form of Bacterial Meningitis -- Meningococcal Group B.

In my opinion, it is of the utmost importance for families and health professionals to always consider Meningitis or Meningococcal Septicaemia if someone becomes ill, especially if the illness has developed rapidly. The earlier the disease is identified and treated could mean the difference between life and death.

For further information about this terrible disease or about this charity, please contact me.

Steve Dayman

Operations Officer

Spencer Dayman

Meningitis Laboratories

Fund-raising Office

592 Fishponds Road

Bristol, BS16 3DA

Tel: 0117 902 0072