Raising awareness (From York Press)

Raising awareness

9:44am Tuesday 9th October 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter

I READ with great interest your article about taking the fear out of coping with childhood illness (The Press, September 29).

The words from Dr Ahmed Massoud resonated with everyone at Meningitis UK as he correctly pointed out that the disease, especially meningococcal septicaemia, is one illness parents fear most.

We congratulate everyone involved in the article including Dr Massoud for raising awareness of childhood illnesses including meningitis.

Meningitis can strike with incredible speed and the symptoms are notoriously difficult to detect, often being confused with flu.

For these reasons, we believe preventative measures are the best solution.

Our sole focus is to fund the development of vaccines and other methods of preventing this devastating disease.

In the absence of a vaccine, we also distribute a wide range of material to raise awareness of the common symptoms and the need to act quickly, which can mean the difference between life and death.

If any of your readers would like a symptoms information pack, including wallet-sized symptoms cards, or to find out more about supporting our Search 4 a Vaccine Campaign, they can call Meningitis UK on 0117 947 6320 or visit meningitisUK.org

Kate Rowland, Chief executive, Meningitis UK.