'If teens were given meningitis B vaccine, my daughter may still be here'

A woman from York whose daughter died after contracting meningitis has called for vaccines to be rolled out more widely, saying it was "devastating" to hear of the outbreak in Kent.

Livia Wilson died aged 19 in 2022 after contracting meningococcal type B meningitis (MenB).

Her mother Alison Goude is now calling for the MenB vaccine to be rolled out to teenagers when they are at school. At the moment, the vaccine is offered to babies and young children.

Alison said: "With this tragic situation that's going on now, surely action needs to be taken."

The University of Kent has seen huge queues of students waiting for the Meningitis B vaccine, with many turned away.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said 15 cases of meningitis had been confirmed and a further 12 were under investigation.

This takes the total to 27 cases of either confirmed or suspected meningitis, up from 20 on Wednesday. Two students have died in the outbreak.

Currently, nine of the 15 confirmed cases are known to be caused by MenB.

Livia had come back from a festival in 2022, gone into work and come home because she did not feel well, Alison said.

"I think she just thought it was those general fever symptoms."

Livia talked about having the "worst headache she had ever had", she said.

"She basically went to bed and never woke up."

After 16 weeks and hundreds of tests, Livia's family found out that her death had been caused by meningitis B.

"Our lives have never been the same since and to see and hear what's going on down in Kent is just devastating."

Alison said she wished she had known more about the symptoms of meningitis when her daughter was still alive, as she believed it might have changed the outcome.

"Trust your instincts. You know when something's not right - just act on it," she said.

• What are the symptoms of meningitis and how is it spread?

She now campaigns to raise awareness of the infection, alongside her calls to increase availability of the MenB vaccine.

At the moment, the separate MenACWY vaccination is given to children in years 9 and 10 at school.

"I don't think it's clear when they're given the meningitis vaccination that they do get at school, that it doesn't cover meningitis B," Alison said.

"I just want to see it being rolled out then, at that time."

The UK Health Security Agency previously said the MenB vaccination was only offered to young children because infants were most at risk of contracting the illness.

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