Parents urged to learn symptoms of meningitis as survey reveals lack of knowledge
We've spoken to Bristolians impacted by the disease to mark World Meningitis Day
Last updated 6th Oct 2022
A woman from Bristol who lost her brother to Meningitis and a mother who lost her son are both urging people to learn the signs, as a new poll says only one in 20 parents knows what they are.
The disease is most common among children and young adults and can kill within 24 hours of infection, but a YouGov survey of 1,300 parents carried out on behalf of the Meningitis Research Foundation, has found many would not necessarily be able to spot it.
For both meningitis and septicaemia the most well known symptom is a rash, but they can also cause severe headaches, shivering, sensitivity to light and stiffness among other things.
Claire Wright, is head of evidence and policy at the Meningitis Research Foundation, which is based in Bristol.
"Every day we support people who are coping with the life-changing impact of meningitis and septicaemia, from deafness, to limb loss, to epilepsy or long-term memory issues," she said.
"Yet the bacteria that trigger these illnesses can be defeated in our lifetime through better vaccine development, availability and uptake, improved diagnostic tests and through knowing when to get medical help.
"It's also important to remember meningitis and septicaemia are more than just a rash, which doesn't always appear.
"This poll tells us that not enough parents are aware of some of the other signs to look out for.
"We want to change that, so more lives can be saved."
The survey found more than three quarters of parents know meningitis is life threatening and is caused by bacteria infecting the lining surrounding the brain and spine.
Yet less than a third recognised shivering and cold hands and feet as a symptom, as well as breathing fast or feeling breathless.
It also noted a discrepancy between mothers and fathers when it came to recognising the symptoms, with 69 percent of mums recognising at least half of them, compared to only 33 percent of dads.
Fifteen percent of dads knew no symptoms at all, while for mums that was just four percent.
George Zographou from Bristol, was 18 when he was killed by meningitis in 2017.
He began feeling unwell at Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall and sought help at the medical tent, but was misdiagnosed and suffered a cardiac arrest an hour later.
His sister Nicole told us she's surprised by the survey results baring in mind it is such a serious illness.
"I didn't know the signs and symptoms before my brother died, so I have to bare that in mind sometimes, but the reason it's so important to know the signs and symptoms is because like most things, the sooner you act the better the outcomes will be for people," she said.
"So it can save somebody's life and it can also reduce the impact that disease has on them and their recovery."
Nicole now works in the health sector and says she has dedicated her life since George's death, to public health.
"For me I feel very passionate about empowering parents and other people to understand the signs of meningitis because I personally know the devastating outcome that can have," she said.
"I feel quite concerned when I hear parents don't have that knowledge."
Michelle Bresnahan, also from Bristol, lost her son Ryan to meningitis in 2010, when he was 16.
She set up the charity A Life For A Cure in his memory and told us she's not surprised by the survey results.
"We come across it a lot about the misunderstanding that the rash is the first thing you see, but actually that's often the last and in the case of Ryan...that was definitely one of the last enforcements that it was meningitis," she said.
"The problem with the signs and the symptoms is they're just every day issues; headache, fever, being sick and certainly, as far as the young adults age group is concerned...they can be misunderstood as being a hangover, or freshers' flu if you're at university or just being run down.
"So it is so key to be aware of all the signs and symptoms, for any age group."
Michelle told us that when Ryan fell ill, she herself did not recognise the symptoms.
"I'd actually popped out because he said he felt tired, he said he had a headache and he'd been a little bit sick during the night," she said.
"He said he wanted some Lucozade...so I did just that, I popped out, and I was only gone sort of 45 minutes and returned home with the paramedic at the bottom of our drive, asking me am I Ryan's mother and saying, 'he's seriously ill, we think it's meningitis.'
"And I remember exactly what I said at that time.
"My first response was, 'but doesn't that only effect babies?'
"I wasn't aware and many of the community around us in Bristol had no idea that it effected young adults."
If you want to learn more about meningitis it's worth visiting the Meningitis Research Foundation's symptoms checker here.
Michelle ran the London Marathon in memory of Ryan on Sunday (October 2).
If you would like to donate to her Just Giving page, you can do so here.
Remember that a person does not need to be displaying all the symptoms to be suffering with meningitis.