About Us
Meningitis UK's mission
Meningitis UK is a Bristol-based charity with a national remit and big vision. Our mission is to fund research to find a vaccine to eradicate meningitis. We feel that focusing on prevention, as opposed to treatment and cure, is the only way to successfully eradicate the disease and prevent its devastating consequences. Meningitis affects thousands of people in the UK every year, so developing a vaccine will make a huge difference to countless lives.
The History of Meningitis UK
Meningitis UK was established in 1999 when Steve Dayman, the charity's Chief Executive, was asked to co-ordinate a fundraising appeal to raise £500,000 to fund a state-of-the-art dedicated meningitis research laboratory in the University of Bristol's School of Medical Sciences. Steve tragically lost his 14-month old son, Spencer to meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in 1982, and has since dedicated his life to the meningitis cause, working tirelessly to raise funds to find a vaccine which could change the fate of others who might otherwise find themselves in the same terrible position.
Spencer Dayman
Read about the experiences that Steve and his wife Gloria went through when they lost their son Spencer.
The Spencer Dayman Meningitis Laboratories - named in memory of Spencer - were officially opened in April 2002, and now house a two and a half million pound investment into meningitis research. Since the successful completion of this project, the charity has adopted the working name of Meningitis UK and in 2005, the Trustees reviewed the charity's Research Strategy and agreed to focus solely on the development of vaccines to protect against meningococcal and pneumococcal infection.
The opening of the Spencer Dayman Meningitis Laboratories
Since the charity started in 1999, Meningitis UK has invested over £2 million pounds into meningitis research in the UK, and is now arguably the leading meningitis charity solely focussed on supporting research into the development of meningitis vaccines in the UK.
Past Breakthroughs
Significant breakthroughs have been made in combating the disease.
Since Steve first got involved with the meningitis cause 24 years ago, significant breakthroughs have been made in combating the disease. These include the development of the Hib vaccine which was introduced into the Childhood Immunisation Programme in the UK in 1992, the meningitis C vaccine in 1999, and the recent vaccine to protect against pneumococcal meningitis, which was introduced on 4th September 2006. Since its introduction, the meningitis C vaccine has reduced cases of Group C disease by over 90% and the recent introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine promises to reduce these figures by a further 250 cases per year once the new vaccine takes full effect.
Future Challenges
Developing a vaccine against meningitis B is our biggest remaining challenge.
Sadly, there is still no vaccine available to protect against the most common form of the disease in the UK - meningococcal group B, which causes both meningitis and septicaemia and accounts for almost 90% of all cases. Developing a vaccine against meningitis B is our biggest remaining challenge, and we are confident that a vaccine can be developed to protect against it in years to come. Our researchers have indicated that this could even be achieved within the next 10 years with enough funding. Obviously, the more support we get, the sooner a vaccine can be developed and the less lives will be lost or dramatically changed.
In the absence of a vaccine to protect against all forms of the disease, we also distribute a wide range of material to the general public and key target groups to raise awareness of the common symptoms and need to act quickly, in the hope that more lives can be saved. We also ensure that all of our research teams disseminate the findings and all useful knowledge acquired as a result of their research, to the public and everyone working in the field of meningitis prevention.
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774