Infection with meningococcal bacteria can give you meningitis. You could have a high fever, a stiff neck or intense nappy pain (babies may cry hard during nappy changing). Sometimes it causes serious long-term effects. That could include epilepsy, deafness, concentration disorders and eye abnormalities. And 5 to 10% of patients die of meningitis.

You could also get blood poisoning. This often causes small bruises or reddish-purple spots on your skin. Blood poisoning can cause the tissue to die, sometimes making it necessary to amputate an arm or leg. In addition, 20–50% of patients with severe blood poisoning do not survive.

If you have meningococcal disease and you sneeze or cough, tiny droplets containing the bacteria are expelled into the air. People can become infected by inhaling these droplets or by kissing someone who is infected. Even if you do not have any symptoms, you can still infect others.

If you do become ill, symptoms will usually start within 1 to 3 days after exposure. Sometimes it takes more time, and you do not become ill until 10 days later. Thankfully, the risk of meningococcal disease is very low. Anyone can get meningococcal disease, but it is most common among children aged 1–4 years, young people aged 14–20 years, and people over 60.

Vaccination can protect you against meningococcal disease type ACWY. Read more about vaccination against meningococcal disease, or read how vaccination works.  

The most common types that cause illness in the Netherlands are meningococci types B, C and W. There is no vaccine against just these 3 types. That is why the Netherlands uses a vaccine that also protects against types A and Y.  

The vaccination does not protect against meningococcal disease type B. Disease caused by meningococcal B is fairly rare in the Netherlands. There is a vaccine against meningococcal B. But it does not offer sufficient protection against the variant of meningococcal B currently circulating in the Netherlands. In addition, compared to other vaccinations, the meningococcal B vaccine is more likely to cause temporary side effects. That is why this vaccination is not included in the National Immunisation Programme. 

If you have meningococcal disease, you can be treated with antibiotics. But because you can become seriously ill very quickly, treatment often comes too late. If you get meningococcal disease, you can develop severe symptoms, and could even die from it.

In the early 20th century, the meningococcal type C bacteria made many children ill. Since 2002, a vaccination against this type has been included in the National Immunisation Programme for toddlers (children aged 14 months). Between 2015 and 2018, there was an increase in serious illnesses and deaths due to meningococcal type W bacteria. Since 2018, a vaccination that protects against types A, C, W and Y has been given to toddlers (14 months) and teens (14 years). 

Since the meningococcal C vaccination was introduced in 2002, the number of reported cases of illness due to this type decreased sharply, dropping to less than 10 per year, in both vaccinated and unvaccinated age groups. These cases only involved seriously ill patients. This is because the disease is circulating less widely. Type B meningococcal disease has also decreased significantly since the late 1990s, dropping to 70 cases per year. When people become seriously ill with meningococcal disease, they almost always end up in hospital. Between 5 and 10% of these people die. 

There were fewer cases of meningococcal disease in 2020 than in other years. This is probably due to the coronavirus measures.