Babies who have not been vaccinated are not in any immediate danger. Photo: Shutterstock

The current fear among parents of the possible outbreak of meningitis B in Malta and the lack of a vaccine is “overblown and exaggerated”, according to a leading paediatrician, who asked to remain anonymous.

“Meningitis is serious, but the current panic is overblown and exaggerated, as already indicated by the Department of Health’s statement, which is factual and totally accurate,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Parents have expressed their concern on social media about the shortage of a vaccine for this strand of meningitis following the death of a one-year-old baby.

A spokeswoman for the health ministry said the baby was the first death due to meningitis B since 2012, although there was one recorded case in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016. Those patients had survived, the spokeswoman said.

The Times of Malta reported on Friday that the government did not supply the vaccine against the specific strain that had affected the infant. The general meningitis vaccine is covered in the five-in-one vaccine provided by the State.

Much of the hype was from marketing companies trying to boost sales

Sources said some parents have flown to the UK, Italy and even Belgium to bring the vaccine to Malta to be administered by their doctors. However, this is risky, as vaccines must be kept at their right temperature to be effective.

READ: Meningitis vaccine shortage likely to persist

The vaccine can be bought from private hospitals and pharmacies, although paediatricians said private hospitals had purchased the vaccine from pharmacies abroad but the consignments had since run out. One hospital has a waiting list with the names of parents who are willing to pay €175 for each of three vaccines required for a child to be properly vaccinated.

Babies who were not vaccinated were not in any immediate danger, the paediatrician told this newspaper, adding that much of the hype came from marketing companies who were seeking to cause as much of a stir as possible to boost sales. The local representative of GSK, the company that supplies the vaccine, said last week fresh supplies would not be available in Malta for some time.

No fixed date has yet been given as to when the supplies would reach the local market.

The meningitis B vaccine is in high demand globally. A spokeswoman for GSK said demand for the vaccine outstripped supply and Malta would have to wait its turn to get supplies.

The signs are fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, vomiting, aversion to bright light and drowsiness. Younger children may not show these symptoms but eat poorly or become lethargic.

Vaccines are the only way to prevent meningitis and have almost eliminated some other causes of this deadly disease.