A BOLTON mum whose son almost died from meningitis is encouraging the local community to take advantage of a new vaccine against the disease for babies, teenagers and first time university students.

Amelia Ikin and her husband Andrew's lives were turned upside down when their son Toby developed meningococcal meningitis Group B (MenB) and septicaemia in 2011 — so when a MenB vaccine was recommended in March last year the couple were delighted.

But a year on and the vaccine was not released, and they joined a viral campaign called #WheresOurVaccine to lobby the government for its release. The campaign paid off and health minister Jeremy Hunt announced that Britain will become the first country in the world with a nationwide meningitis B immunisation programme.

The vaccine became available at the start of this month and Mrs and Mrs Akin hope that they can encourage parents to speak to their GP and take advantage of the lifesaving jab.

Mrs Ikin, aged 31, of Crown Lane, Horwich, said: "My son Toby contracted MenB and septicaemia in 2011 when he was three years old. He became poorly like a really bad case of flu, very lethargic and sleepy and was sleeping longer than usual. I knew it wasn't just a cold or virus and had a bad feeling it was something more sinister.

"The previous year he had pneumonia and thought it could have been that again as he had similar symptoms. I took him to the doctors twice, rang NHS direct and took him to A&E but they all said it was just a virus sent him away.

"The following morning I noticed Toby wasn't awake, I went to his room and he was unresponsive so I rung for an ambulance. The paramedic suspected meningitis and gave him an injection and he was taken straight to hospital where doctors treated him for about a week.

"Toby goes to a specialist hospital every 6-9 months to check his immune system. He is one brave little boy and definitely a fighter. I know how devastating these diseases can be, so I would urge all who are eligible to make sure they get the vaccines."

The couple are speaking about their experience to mark Meningitis Awareness Week, which runs until Sunday and is organised by international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF).

The MenB vaccine follows the start of a recent meningococcal ACWY (Men ACWY) vaccination programme for 14 to 18 year old schoolchildren and 19 to 25 year olds starting university for the first time.

MRF's chief executive Chris Head said, "We are delighted with the introduction of these new vaccines which we hope will further reduce the number of cases in the UK. However, there are still some forms of the disease which are not covered by these vaccines so it is vital that people are still aware of the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia."

For any questions about meningitis, septicaemia and vaccination against the diseases call MRF's Freefone helpline on 080 8800 3344 or log on to meningitis.org.