Meningococcal ACWY Vaccine Program in Australia

Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) will occur when the bacteria enter the bloodstream causing meningitis or septicaemia. Serious infections may also occur in lungs, intestines, and joints and majorly affect children younger than 5 years and older adolescents of between 15 and 19 years old (Abady et al. There are different strains of meningococcal bacteria and are designated using alphabet letters A, B, C, W, and Y. In September 2017, there was an outbreak of Meningococcal W in Central Australia and some parts of Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. In response, States started meningococcal ACWY vaccination program that targeted older adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years (Victoria State Government, 2018). However, as from 2013, meningococcal subgroup W, and recently Y have become prevalent in Australia.

From the year 2002 to 2015, the predominant strain was strain B (Abady et al. However, from 2016 through 2017, strain W became the most dominant strain with 139 cases against 108 for strain B reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). In 2017, 16 deaths were reported in relation to meningococcal strain W (Australian Government Department of Health, 2018). As a result of the introduction of meningococcal C vaccination within the NIP, overall the rate of IMD’s decreased by over 82% from 2002 to 2013. As such the program targets students in years and 10 (Department of Health, 2018). Other states such as New South Wales also includes students in year 11. To ensure that all target population has access to the vaccines, all older adults who have not received the vaccine through at school, for instance, those who are home-schooled o undergoing apprenticeship and are between age 15 and 19 are encouraged their immunisation provider before the end of 2018 (New South Wales Government, 2018).

The vaccine itself is free by the individual may be required to pay a small consultation fee depending on the immunisation provider. Generally, the programs developed focuses on older teenagers. However, the immunisation provider will have to use professional judgment in deciding whether the child has the capacity to give or withhold judgments. Generally, individuals above 15 years old are believed to have the capacity to give or withhold consent (Queensland Government, 2018). The goal of the including Meningococcal ACWY in the NIP is to limit the spread of so as to protect the wider community. Meningococcal ACWY are relatively costly. Therefore the government has tried to focus their efforts where they can achieve the maximum results. Facts gathered from each of the regions and states are analyzed and then shared by the Australian Government Department of Health.

Some of the strengths of NNDSS is that the developed systems are quite simple, the process of data collection and dissemination is fast, and thus, the information is quickly adopted by the intended stakeholders. However, just like other systems, the NNDSS has been criticized for lack of clearly documented objectives, inflexibility to the ever-changing needs, as well as some complexities in the process that affects the timeless delivery of the information (Miller et al. Currently, the NNDSS only publishes quarterly reports on the invasive meningococcal disease. Therefore, some increased federal funding can the operations of NNDSS in meeting its objectives. Results indicated that there had been a reduction in the number of IMD reported to the NNDSS since the program was rolled.

However, the decrease has not been very significant despite including the program in the NIP (Wisemantel et al. According to the Australian Government Department of Health (2018), there is even a 6% increase in the number of reported cases from quarter 1 (53 cases) to quarter 2 (56 cases) in 2018. Therefore, even though the program has been proved to be somewhat effective, recent data has shown that the progress seems to be stagnating and that there is a need for the government to re-evaluate its implementation strategy so as to increase the effectiveness of the program. A fatality rate of 8. It is critical therefore that the states try to expand the coverage so that many more people are included in the program depending on risk factors (Argante et al.

For instance, according to the Queensland Government (2018), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have shown to have a higher incidence of IMD than the rest of the population. Another question that has been on the mind of many Australian is why the government has chosen to omit Meningococcal B vaccine in the program. Data from the NNDSS has reviewed that Meningococcal B accounts for close to 50 % of all reported IMD (45% in both the first and second quarters in 2018). This indicates that it is important for the government to look for ways in which the Meningococcal B vaccine can be included in the program. Conclusion The outbreak of Meningococcal W in Central Australia necessitated the government to include Meningococcal ACYW vaccine in the national immunisation program.

The program targeted older teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years old since studies have indicated that this population is particularly at a greater risk of contracting the disease and that this was the most cost-effective way of protecting the entire community. Since the rollout of the program, there has been a considerable decrease in the level or reportable intrusive meningococcal diseases to the NNDSS which has demonstrated the effectiveness of the strategy. However, the program is set to end at the end of 2018. In addition, despite Meningococcal B being the most common strain in Australia, the government has not included it in the national immunisation program since it is generally thought to be less fatal. V. , Patel, B. K. C. , & Jennison, A.

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