Boxing fundraiser ready to take a swing at meningitis

By RENEE KIRIONA





A 9-month-old baby who died at Middlemore Hospital last Friday was the country's latest victim of meningococcal disease.

The death comes only days before the start of Meningitis Awareness Week and at a time when health authorities are considering whether to license a new vaccine intended to prevent the disease.

This year three people, including two adults, one from Tauranga and another from Otago, have been killed by the disease. And with winter approaching experts believe the epidemic is likely to get worse.

Yesterday, Fight for Life director and former Kiwis league star Dean Lonergan stepped into the ring to try to help fight the disease.

Mr Lonergan said the celebrity boxing fundraiser had played a major role in raising awareness of suicide prevention and it would do the same with meningitis.

"Like suicide this illness is claiming too many lives. If we can do something to educate the public and save lives then every one of us will be a winner on the night," he said.

The proceeds of the July 29 event at the North Shore Events Centre would go to The Meningitis Trust which raises awareness about the disease.

"We're hoping for a minimum of $650,000 and if we can get $1 million that would be great," the trust's chief executive officer Derek Dallow said.

For every person that died of the disease four others would be left with long-term effects such as vision impairment, hearing loss, learning difficulties and amputation of limbs, Mr Dallow said.

"Many people think that if you survive the disease you live happily ever after, but that's not the case at all.

"For many, their lives take a dramatic turn and we want the public to know that they need us as well."

Hamiltonian Robin McGregor, whose 15-year-old son died of the disease four years ago, said making the public more aware of the disease was overdue.

"That disease is a mongrel because it hides behind flu-like symptoms and when it is discovered, sometimes it's too late."