I urge all people under the age of 25 to take advantage of the safe and effective protection the vaccine offers

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson

However, the overall risk of contracting meningococcal infection is still twice as high in people aged between 20 and 24 as it is in the rest of the adult population.

The vaccination campaign, which is part of the routine UK childhood immunisation programme, is being widened on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

It will be available to everyone in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said the programme would be extended to those under-25s who had not already been immunised.

"Thanks to this vaccine in 2001 we saw a 90% reduction in cases and deaths from meningitis C," he said.

"This is a huge tribute to school nurses, GPs and primary care staff across the country.

"I urge all people under the age of 25 to take advantage of the safe and effective protection the vaccine offers."

The British Medical Association (BMA) has welcomed the initiative.

Life saver

Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the BMA's general practitioners committee, said: "GPs have already made a tremendous contribution to the programme to reduce the impact of this potentially fatal disease.

"I am confident that valuable contribution will be continued as immunisation is extended to a new age group."

Extending the vaccination programme is expected to lead to a similar dramatic decrease in cases of group C meningitis and septicaemia in 20 to 24 year olds.

Meningitis Research Foundation Chief Executive Denise Vaughan said the organisation was "delighted" at the move, adding it would "undoubtedly save lives".

"However, not all forms of meningitis and septicaemia are vaccine preventable so research is still essential," she added.

"As cases of group B meningococcal disease, the main cause of meningitis and septicaemia in the UK, continue to rise unabated, the public still need to be aware of the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia and seek medical help if they suspect someone has this disease."

In 1998, before the vaccine was introduced, the meningococcal group C bacterium caused an estimated 1,530 cases of meningitis and/or septicaemia and 150 deaths, mainly in children and young people.

In the first nine months of 1999, before the immunisation campaign started, there were 551 confirmed cases of group C meningococcal infection and 47 deaths.

In the same period of 2001 there were 79 confirmed cases of group C meningococcal infection and three deaths.