Could it be meningococcal? Australia approaches the high-risk disease's peak season

SBS Australia

2 days ago

Two years ago, Jacob Blackwell was a fit tradesman with a love of sports - until a devastating bout of meningococcal disease turned his life upside down. Within two days he went from feeling lethargic to experiencing delusions. In hospital, doctors put him in an induced coma and saved his life. But he suffered severe long-term complications, losing the ability to do even basic tasks. "Everything I had to learn to do again, so eating, talking - back to square one. Think of it as an 18-month-old, just learning to do everything again." His mother Chelsea Blackwell remembers her shock on seeing the illness take hold of her son. "I actually couldn't comprehend what I'd seen. I opened the door, I looked and I was just like hmmm. Jacob didn't look like Jacob because his brain had already been swollen so his eyes were protruding and his skin was breaking a little bit. So they actually thought initially he had been assaulted." Meningococcal disease is caused by bacteria, called neisseria meningitidis, which most people carry in the back of their throat at some point in their lives. But when that bacteria turns invasive it can enter the brain or the bloodstream, causing potentially life-threatening infection. General Practitioner Dr Sam Hay says the disease can progress dangerously quickly. "It often starts with a flu-like illness, bit of a cold, bit of a runny nose, a bit of a cough. But then it progresses, fevers and (the patient) becomes very, very sick after that. People can go downhill within 24 to 48 hours." As Australia enters peak season for meningococcal, there's a national campaign ((launched Monday)) to raise awareness of the disease which primarily affects young adults and children. Doctors say the illness is on the rise, with 56 cases already reported this year - 18 of those in New South Wales. Dr Sam Hay says infections can have devastating consequences. "One in 10 people who get the invasive meningococcal can unfortunately pass away. One in five get these significant side-effects, complications, that could be brain damage, loss of limbs, hearing loss, and the list goes on.' Paralympic swimmer and bronze medallist Jay Dohnt contracted meningococcal when he was in high school. After feeling sick and developing a rash, he went to see a GP. Just 24 hours after developing symptoms, he was in intensive care. "The ambulance was still in precautionary mode, they didn't even put the lights on to take me to a hospital. At the hospital, it was a different story. They all met me out in the carpark, and took it very seriously. That evening (I was) hooked up to everything in the intensive care unit and given a 97 per chance of dying, or a 3 per cent chance of living. I wasn't conscious for the first two weeks, and I don't remember much from the first two months of a five-and-a-half month hospital stay. But this is essentially the end result - a bilateral knee amputee. Missing my patella (kneecap) in my left leg, lost four fingers on my right hand as well. So very life-changing for a teenager who loved sport." It's these life-altering impacts that lead Karen Quick, CEO of Meningitis Centre Australia, to stress the importance of early detection, urging parents to push for answers. "It's really important as parents that we're aware of all the signs and symptoms, that we trust our instincts and we get help straight away. Go straight to the hospital, straight to the doctor, and ask the question - could it be meningococcal?" Dr Sam Hay warns people not to wait until they have developed a rash as by then, it could be already too late. "When it gets into the blood stream, that's when you get the septicaemia and that then goes on to the rash. But the problem is that the rash, while it is dangerous, it happens late. And if you are looking for that, things have gone too far." Two years after his brush with meningococcal, Jay Blackwell is still working on his recovery. Inspired by Paralympian and fellow survivor Jay, he has taken up swimming and says, despite many challenges, the future is looking bright. "You kind of adapt to the life you live now you don't really think about your old life. As hard as it has been, I kind of like to take every day as my glass half full, pretty well. There's all these opportunities that I couldn't even imagine.'