{"id":456668,"date":"2026-02-03T23:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/456668\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:43:10","slug":"urgent-warning-as-disease-spreads-in-one-aussie-state-and-the-concerning-detail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/456668\/","title":{"rendered":"Urgent warning as disease spreads in one Aussie state – and the concerning detail"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least four people have been diagnosed with the deadly disease meningococcal B in Western Australia<\/a>, although authorities say there is no link between the cases.<\/p>\n

WA Health said two of the people affected were confirmed in December 2025, and two were confirmed in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood or of the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain.<\/p>\n

It can occasionally affect other sites such as the throat, lungs or large joints.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘These four latest cases do not indicate an increase in meningococcal case numbers at this stage,’ WA Health said in a statement on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘However, the Department of Health continues to closely monitor this notifiable disease.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most people with the disease recover from it with treatment. But it can lead to death in 5 to 10 per cent of cases.<\/p>\n

Around 15 per cent of people who are diagnosed with\u00a0invasive meningococcal may experience long-term complications such as hearing loss, limb amputations or brain damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At least four people have been diagnosed with the deadly disease meningococcal B in Western Australia (stock image)<\/p>\n

\"Sometimes\u00a0symptoms <\/p>\n

Sometimes\u00a0symptoms may be accompanied by the appearance of a spotty red-purple rash<\/p>\n

In 2025, there were a total of 13 cases of invasive meningococcal disease and one death reported – which was identical to the numbers reported in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of the 13 cases in 2025, 12 were serogroup B and one was serogroup Y.<\/p>\n

WA Health noted meningococcal bacteria is not easily spread from person-to-person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘The bacterium is present in droplets discharged from the nose and throat when coughing or sneezing but is not spread by saliva and does not survive more than a few seconds in the environment,’ the statement said.<\/p>\n

‘Meningococcal bacteria are carried harmlessly in the back of the nose and throat by about 10 to 20 per cent of the population at any one time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Very rarely, the bacteria invade the bloodstream or tissues and cause serious infections.<\/p>\n

‘Although meningococcal infection is treatable with antibiotics, it can progress very rapidly, so it is important that anyone with these symptoms seek medical attention urgently.’<\/p>\n

The symptoms can include a high fever, chills, headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, and severe muscle and joint pains.<\/p>\n

\"Pictured, <\/p>\n

Pictured, a 3D illustration of the bacterium neisseria meningitidis which can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease<\/p>\n

Sometimes symptoms may be accompanied by the appearance of a spotty red-purple rash that looks like small bleeding points beneath the skin, or bruises.<\/p>\n

Young children may not complain of symptoms, so fever, pale or blotchy complexion, vomiting, inactivity, poor feeding and rash are important signs.<\/p>\n

Vaccination has significantly reduced the number of infections in Australia, and there are two types available.<\/p>\n

One vaccine protects against four strains of meningococcal disease (serogroups A, C, W and Y), and the other protects against serogroup B.<\/p>\n

The ACWY vaccine is offered free to all children at 12 months of age, and to all Year 10 students, with a free catch-up program for teenagers between 15 and 19 years old.<\/p>\n

Due to a higher rate of meningococcal disease in Aboriginal children in WA, the ACWY vaccine is offered free to Aboriginal children aged from six weeks to 12 months old.<\/p>\n

The meningococcal B vaccine is free for all Aboriginal children aged up to two years old in the state.<\/p>\n

Both vaccines are also free for people with certain medical risk conditions. Anyone who is not eligible for the free option can request vaccinations for a fee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At least four people have been diagnosed with the deadly disease meningococcal B in Western Australia, although authorities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[100,43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-456668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-dailymail","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}