article_snippet: There are around 1,870 cases of meningitis B in Britain each year and meningitis B commonly affects the under-fives and teenagers.
article_snippet: meningitis B leads to around 120 deaths and leaves another 400 with life-long disabilities including brain damage, amputations and blindness.
article_snippet: Charities estimate the NHS would spend around £3million treating and caring for just one child who has survived meningitis but is left with life-long disabilities.
article_snippet: Meningitis B can kill a healthy child within hours of the first symptoms.
article_snippet: Meningitis B is an infection of the meninges - the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
article_snippet: Meningitis Now, said:
article_snippet: ’ Chris Head, of the Meningitis Research Foundation, said:
article_snippet: ’ Meningitis is an infection of the outside layer of cells surrounding the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation and damage.
article_snippet: Meningitis can kill within hours and is the most common cause of death by infectious disease in childhood.