WA Health has been notified of four people diagnosed with meningococcal serogroup B disease, two in December 2025 and two in January 2026. The cases are not linked.
Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood and/or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain, and occasionally of other sites, such as the throat, lungs or large joints.
In 2025, a total of 13 cases of invasive meningococcal disease and one death were reported, identical to the overall numbers reported in 2024. Of the 13 cases reported in 2025, 12 were serogroup B and one was serogroup Y.
These four latest cases do not indicate an increase in meningococcal case numbers at this stage however the Department of Health continues to closely monitor this notifiable disease.
There are two types of meningococcal vaccine available: one protects against four serogroups of the meningococcal disease (serogroups A, C, W and Y) and the other protects against serogroup B.
The MenACWY vaccine is offered free to all children at 12 months of age. In addition, the MenACWY vaccine is offered to all Year 10 students, with a free catch-up program for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old.
Due to a higher rate of meningococcal disease in Aboriginal children in WA, MenACWY vaccine is offered free to Aboriginal children aged from six weeks to 12 months old and MenB vaccine is free for all Aboriginal children aged up to two years old.
Both vaccines are free for people of all ages with certain medical risk conditions, which can be discussed with a person's health care provider. People not eligible for free vaccines can request them through their health care provider for a fee.
Meningococcal bacteria are not easily spread from person-to-person. The bacterium is present in droplets discharged from the nose and throat when coughing or sneezing but is not spread by saliva and does not survive more than a few seconds in the environment.
Meningococcal bacteria are carried harmlessly in the back of the nose and throat by about 10-20 percent of the population at any one time. Very rarely, the bacteria invade the bloodstream or tissues and cause serious infections.
Symptoms of invasive meningococcal disease may include high fever, chills, headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, and severe muscle and joint pains.
Sometimes – but not always – symptoms may be accompanied by the appearance of a spotty red-purple rash that looks like small bleeding points beneath the skin or bruises.
Young children may not complain of symptoms, so fever, pale or blotchy complexion, vomiting, lethargy (inactivity), poor feeding and rash are important signs.
Although meningococcal infection is treatable with antibiotics, it can progress very rapidly, so it is important that anyone with these symptoms seek medical attention urgently.
Most people with the disease recover with appropriate treatment, however it can lead to death in 5 to 10 per cent, and around 15 per cent may experience long-term complications such as hearing loss, limb amputations or brain damage.
