Northland health officials are urging all parents and caregivers to have their eligible children vaccinated after a seven-month-old Northland child has been diagnosed with the potentially fatal meningococcal W disease.
Three people from Northland have died from the disease since the MenW strain came into the country in the middle of 2018 with the latest case the only other one in the region. This time the child, from the Hokianga, was treated and discharged.
Since the outbreak of the disease Northland District Health board has been running a MenW vaccination campaign aimed at immunising children and youths aged between 9 months and 5 years - the vulnerable young children - or 13 and 20 years - the cohort of children who spread this disease the most.
"We now know that meningococcal W is still circulating in our community and stress again how important it is that our children are protected," Medical Officer of Health Dr Jose Ortega Benito said.
As of March 18, 14,001 children in Northland had been vaccinated against meningococcal W through the outbreak campaign, which leaves a further 8706 eligible children who can take advantage of the free vaccine in the region.