Deadly strain of meningococcal disease kills two WA women in past few months, prompting calls for more vaccines for young people

WA is in the grip of a rise of an aggressive strain of meningococcal, which has killed two young women in the past few months. The virulent W strain of the bacterial infection can kill someone more quickly than other serogroups of the disease, according to Meningitis Centre Australia. Chief executive Lisa D’Cruz said while the B strain was the most common in Australia because of its prevalence in NSW and Queensland, WA was seeing more cases of the W strain. “What we’ve been told by researchers and epidemiologists is that W seems to be a bit of a rogue strain, meaning it can kill quicker than the other strains,” she said. “All the other strains can kill but for some reason W is highly virulent.” Two cases of meningococcal have been reported so far this year, both the W strain. One of them was 20-year-old barista Amelia Clayton, who died in Kalgoorlie on February 3. Ashleigh Hunter, a 26-year-old accountant, died from the W strain on December 27. In 2019, there were nine cases of W strain, eight of B, six of C and two of Y. Ms D’Cruz said it was likely that many twentysomethings in WA were not vaccinated against the W strain because they received the Men C strain immunisation at school in the early 2000s. She called on the McGowan Government to extend its free vaccination program — which covers the A, C, W and Y strains and is available to children at 12 months old and teenagers aged 15 to 19 — up to the age of 25.