KEN TICEHURST

ADJOURNMENT: Health: Meningococcal Disease

Mr TICEHURST (Dobell) (9.24 p.m.) —I rise today to congratulate the federal government on its investment in the meningococcal C vaccination program. Last year, the government provided $291 million over four years to protect those most at risk of the disease. I also rise to urge the New South Wales health minister to speed up the school based roll out of the vaccination program. We need to ensure that as many young Australians as possible are protected against meningococcal C disease before this winter, when the peak season for the disease begins. To date, all states and territories have commenced vaccinating children turning one to five years of age through general practitioners. School based programs to vaccinate senior high school students are underway in all states except New South Wales which is lagging behind with only a few schools having received the vaccination.

The lack of action by New South Wales is disappointing and disconcerting, particularly in my electorate of Dobell on the New South Wales Central Coast, because it is a cluster area for the disease and home to a large number of young adults. The Commonwealth is investing $82 million to protect New South Wales children over four years, including more than $78 million for meningococcal C vaccine and $4 million to deliver school based immunisation clinics. However, these school based clinics must be up and running very soon to ensure as many NSW high school students as possible receive the best possible protection against this disease. [start page 17274]

While meningococcal disease is rare—affecting 573 people last year—it is an illness that can strike without warning. The disease can be extremely difficult to diagnose, yet in its early stages it can wreak a lot of damage, causing death within hours. Michael and Sue-Anne Sanig of Berkeley Vale lost their son Stephen Sanig to meningococcal disease in 2001, 14 hours after the onset of a fever. He was seven years old. Luci Jarratt, the daughter of two of my closest friends, also caught the disease. At the first sign of symptoms, Luci's parents took her to the local GP, who fortunately administered penicillin. At Gosford hospital, the Jarratts demanded their child be treated as a meningococcal case. Luci survived the ordeal with no lasting effects. If the disease is diagnosed in its early stages it can be treated effectively. It is therefore our responsibility to remain vigilant in the face of such a threat to human life.

The Central Coast has amongst the highest rates of meningococcal disease in Australia. The coast accounts for three per cent of the pop-ulation of NSW but has approximately 15 per cent of the state's meningococcal infections. Nobody knows why. It has been widely reported in local newspapers that cooperation from the Central Coast area health authority is limited in terms of the release of information about the disease, including infection rates and new cases. Lack of knowledge on the coast can result in complacency amongst the public, who may falsely believe that no-one is contracting the disease.

Sue-Anne and Michael Sanig established the Stephen Sanig Foundation with the support of Meningococcal Australia to educate people about the effects of meningococcal disease. They have faced their enormous loss not only with tremendous dignity but also with the courage to use their experience to help others. Michael and Sue-Anne Sanig are an example to us all. The Sanigs and many other volunteers work tirelessly to communicate the symptoms of meningococcal disease, and I congratulate them for their efforts. Education and the vaccination program are working. By May 2003 there had been 151 notified cases of the disease in Australia for the year compared with 200 cases in the same period in 2002—a reduction of almost 25 per cent.

The Stephen Sanig Foundation has been overwhelmed by the demand for education material. The foundation is running out of money and does not have the financial means to meet current requirements for educational pamphlets. The foundation has been asked to supply material to the New South Wales infectious disease control unit so that it can send out 3,000 pamphlets to its medical professionals. The foundation urgently needs to print another one million pamphlets and 10,000 posters for distribution in Sydney and Wollongong. The immediate financial need is for $75,000. The foundation has also endorsed the production of an information video and DVD featuring the families of meningococcal victims and survivors of the disease. The film is an effective graphic account of the illness and covers contraction, symptoms, treatment and long-term effects. This resource should be in ample supply and free for use by all schools.

The savings in health costs alone from the education and vaccination programs are in the tens of millions of dollars per annum. While there is no vaccination for B strain, C strain is responsible for a third of the cases and a majority of the deaths. It is highly appropriate for the government to concentrate on the C vaccination program at the moment. (Time expired)

Parliament Speeches

Meningococcal Disease - 27/8/02
Meningococcal Disease - 28/8/02
Meningococcal Disease - 23/6/03
Meningococcal Disease - 20/8/04

TOP