Are there factors that might predispose a person to get meningitis/septicaemia?
Yes. These include: • Age • People with certain immunodeficiences such as no spleen or HIV • The virulence of the bacterium • A person’s genetic make up A study with twins at St Mary’s hospital proved that the likelihood of developing disease is 70% dependent on the virulence of the strain you contract and 30% genetic. More recently, research undertaken by Prof. Levin at Imperial College, London found that a defect in the ‘Factor H’ gene led to an increased susceptibility to meningococcal disease. However, this is only a very slight increase. In the general population, there is a 1 in 40,000 chance of contracting meningococcal disease. If this increased 10 times due to a defect in the factor H gene, the risk would only rise to 10 in 40,000. Approximately, 1 in 500 cases of meningococcal disease will also see the presence of a genetic defect known as complement deficiencies. These genetically inherited immunodeficiencies can be detected using routine tests. There are certain circumstanc
