Child hospitalised with meningococcal disease

A young child is being treated in hospital for meningococcal disease, the 11th case in WA this year.

The WA Health Department said the child was recovering, after being diagnosed with a W strain of the bacterial infection.

Meningococcal disease is an uncommon, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood or the membranes that line the spinal cord and brain, and occasionally other sites such as the throat, lungs or large joints.

Of the 11 cases so far this year, six have been W strain infections, three have been B strains and two have been Y strains.

This year is tracking to have fewer meningococcal infections than last year, when there were 46 cases - double the number reported in 2016 and the most in any year since 2005.