Northland met the definition of meningococcal outbreak in October

Northland met the criteria for the emergence of the virulent W strain and deadly W meningococcus in October, the Northland District Health Board announced.

The DHB also asked whether the threshold of a vaccination campaign should be evaluated according to the high rate of deprivation in the region.

Nick Chamberlain, General Manager of Northland DHB, confirmed to the Herald on May 16, he had expressed his concerns to the Ministry of Health and asked if an active national vaccination campaign should be considered, as there was an increase in the number of cases in Northland and New Zealand.

"We also noted that with our high deprivation population in Northland, we were concerned about what could potentially evolve here, and to this end, we wondered whether our Northland threshold for a local campaign should be evaluated. "said Chamberlain.

"The ministry indicated that a local vaccination campaign would be launched when it would be confirmed that there was an outbreak." Northland fulfilled the criteria of an epidemic in the community for children of less than 10 years in October, after which the Technical Advisory Group recommended that a vaccination program be implemented in Northland, "he said in response to questions from the Herald.

Chamberlain said it was true that the DHB had been encouraging the ministry to approve a vaccination campaign since May, "being fully aware that we would probably wait until the state of the epidemic is achieved".

The Ministry of Health said it had convened the technical advisory group at the end of October on Northland and country affairs, due to growing concern over rising numbers.

The group confirmed on November 8 that the number of MenW in Northland met the criteria for a community epidemic among children under 10 due to the latest cases in the region in October, said the deputy director. of Public Health, Niki Stefanogiannis.

The definition of a meningococcal epidemic in the community is three or more confirmed cases of the same strain during a period of three months that are unrelated and belong to an age group or to a specific community group and the disease rate is at least 10 cases per year. 100,000 people.

The technical advisory group then recommended the establishment of a vaccination program in Northland, said Stefanogiannis.

On Monday, the government announced an urgent vaccination program to fight the epidemic in Northland, which has recorded the highest number of cases and deaths due to the strain.

Three of the six MenW deaths in the country this year, including a 7-year-old girl and a teenager, occurred in Northland. The number of MenW cases in the country has increased from five in 2016 to 29 this year, including seven in Northland.

The vaccination program will begin on December 5 and target children aged 9 months to four years and those aged 13 to 19 years.

National deputy spokesman for health, Shane Reti, has accused Health Minister David Clark of describing the outbreak as a "slight increase" in the disease.

"This is a ruthless and absolutely appalling description of a deadly disease that has devastated many communities," said Reti.

He added that the Ministry of Health's own vaccination update had described the outbreak as early as May.

"It's been six months before the official notice was issued, which gave the government plenty of time to ask and start an answer, and yet, by the very admission of the minister, it was not aware of the answer until last week, "Reti said in a statement.

Clark told reporters today that the Department of Health has kept him informed throughout the year of incidents related to meningococcus.

"They occur all the time in New Zealand, meningococcal disease is not new.

"If there is any clue that a trend might emerge, it triggers conversations between clinicians."

Clark said the ESR data showed a slight increase in the number of cases over a series of months.

"We are obviously worried when we see a particularly virulent strain that seems to start gaining ground."