Meningococcal disease

Key facts

  • Meningococcal disease can cause inflammation around the brain (meningitis) and blood poisoning (septicaemia).

  • Vaccines are the best way to protect your child against meningococcal disease.

Last updated on 13 December 2024.

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When to vaccinate against meningococcal disease

It is recommended that you vaccinate your child against meningococcal disease at 12 months.


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What is meningococcal disease?

Meningococcal disease can cause inflammation around the brain (meningitis) and blood poisoning (bacteria in the blood, also called septicaemia). The germs usually live harmlessly in the mucus found in a person’s nose and throat. They spread between people when they cough or kiss. Rarely, they make their way into the body and cause meningococcal disease, which can be fatal. Children who survive can have brain damage or other long-term problems, like severe scars, deafness or amputations.1

What will happen to my child if they catch meningococcal disease?

Usual symptoms

  • People with meningococcal disease get a sudden fever (high temperature), a headache, stiff neck, eyes that hurt in the light, altered consciousness (confusion or drowsiness), muscle aches, cold hands, thirst, joint pain, nausea and vomiting. 
  • People with meningococcal disease often, but not always, have a red or purple rash that can look like bruises, broken blood vessels or lace, and doesn’t fade when you press the side of a glass on it.
  • There are several types of meningococcal disease. The most common are meningitis (infection of the brain lining) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). These are also the most serious.
  • Meningococcal disease can also affect the lungs (pneumonia), joints (arthritis) and eyes (conjunctivitis, also called pink-eye).
  • Many people carry meningococcal bacteria (germs) at the back of their noses and throats without knowing it. It doesn’t make them sick, but they can spread it to other people.

Less common symptoms

  • Between 10 and 30 per cent of those who survive meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia have fingers, toes, arms or legs amputated (cut off) or are permanently deaf or brain damaged.
  • Between 5 and 10 per cent of people who get meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia die, even though they are given antibiotics.
What vaccine will protect my child against meningococcal disease?

In Australia, children receive a vaccine (4vMenCV) that strengthens immunity to four strains (A, C, W, and Y) of the bacteria that causes meningococcal disease.

When should my child be vaccinated?

It is recommended that children get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal disease at 12 months.

It is also recommended that adolescents are vaccinated in high school, around 14-16 years of age (around Year 10, or equivalent).

It is important that children get all their vaccinations on time to ensure they have the  best possible protection against infectious diseases.

How does the meningococcal vaccine work?

The vaccine works by ‘training’ your child’s immune system to recognise and get rid of the meningococcal bacteria. The vaccine contains antigens, which are tiny, harmless fragments of the meningococcal bacteria.

When your immune system detects the antigens in the vaccine, it produces proteins called antibodies. These antibodies are like soldiers that recognise and remember those parts of the meningococcal bacteria. If your child is ever exposed to the real meningococcal bacteria, their immune system will recognise them quickly and fight them off using the antibodies it created after vaccination.2

The meningococcal vaccine does not contain any blood products and is not a ‘live’ vaccine. The antigens are made synthetically. They cannot replicate themselves or cause disease.

How effective is the vaccine?

Most children and adolescents (82–94 per cent) who have had their first dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine have developed enough infection-fighting antibodies to protect them against invasive meningococcal disease caused by the ACWY bacteria strains.3

Research from South Australia shows most children (up to 90.7 per cent) who have had two doses of the meningococcal B vaccine have developed enough infection-fighting cells (antibodies) to protect them against meningococcal B disease.4

In Australia, children may lose their infection-fighting cells (antibodies) to meningococcal disease over time.5 To keep their protection against invasive meningococcal disease up to date, your child is recommended to have another dose of meningococcal ACWY vaccine when they are a teenager.1

Will my child catch meningococcal disease from the vaccine?

No, there is no risk that your child will catch meningococcal disease because the vaccine does not contain the live bacteria that causes the disease.

What are the common reactions to the vaccine?
  • About 10 per cent of children who get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal experience local swelling, redness or pain at the injection site that lasts one or two days. 
  • About 10 per cent develop a mild fever or headache.
  • About 10 per cent are irritable and lose their appetite for a short time.

If your child doesn’t seem to be getting better, or you are worried about them, you can get help from:

  • your doctor
  • your nearest emergency department
  • or by calling Health Direct on 1800 022 222.
Are there any rare and/or serious side effects to the vaccine?

There are no known rare and/or serious side effects to the vaccine.

What impact has vaccination had on the prevalence of meningococcal disease?

The introduction of the meningococcal C vaccine in 2003 has significantly reduced the rates of meningococcal C disease in Australia. The additional three meningococcal strains in the quadrivalent meningococcal (MenACWY) vaccine, widely used since 2017, has substantially reduced meningococcal W and Y disease.5,6,7 

Graph: How vaccination has impacted the prevalence of meningococcal disease

  1. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). Australian Immunisation Handbook, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, 2018, immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au
  2. Australian Academy of Science. The science of immunisation: questions and answers. Canberra, 2021. Available from: https://www.science.org.au/education/immunisation-climate-change-genetic-modification/science-immunisation
  3. Villena R, Kriz P, Tin Tin Htar et al. Real-world impact and effectiveness of MenACWY-TT. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2023;19. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2023.2251825
  4. Wang B, Giles L, Andraweera P et al. 4CMenB sustained vaccine effectiveness against invasive meningococcal B disease and gonorrhoea at three years post programme implementation. Journal of Infection 2023;;87:95-102. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.05.021 
  5. Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H, et al. Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007, Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 34 Supplement December 2010: S1-167
  6. Updated with data from NNDSS Annual Report Writing Group. Australia’s Notifiable Disease Status, 2010: Annual Report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 36 March 2012: 36:1-69
  7. Lahra MM, George CR, Shoushtari M, Hogan TR. Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme Annual Report, 2020. Commun Dis Intell. 2021 Aug 30;45. Available from:  https:\www1.health.gov.au\internet\main\publishing.nsf\Content\8FA6078276359430CA257BF0001A4C42\$File\australian_meningococcal_surveillance_programme_annual_report_2021.pdf