• Consultant claims non-vaccination by Ministry and resultant lack of proper cold storage of unregistered vaccine administered by general docs

The failure of the Ministry of Health to properly vaccinate those leaving for Mecca for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages this year (2023) against meningococcal meningitis may result in several adverse consequences to the country’s health sector as well as diplomatic relations between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, The Daily Morning learns.

Meningococcal meningitis refers to any illness caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. These illnesses are often severe, can be deadly, and include infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meninges) and bloodstream.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, a consultant attached to a leading Government hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the Saudi Arabian Government had made it mandatory for pilgrims and those travelling to Mecca to perform Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to get the meningococcal vaccine every year. The consultant said that the vaccine should be administered 10 days before travel, and is effective for three years.

“This vaccine is usually available for the public at the office of the Assistant Port Health Officer (APHO) at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) and in certain hospitals. It is distributed to the APHO office and hospitals by the Medical Supplies Division (MSD). In addition to those who go to Saudi Arabia, the vaccine has been given to students leaving for certain countries such as the US and Malaysia, and immune-suppressed patients. It is not given routinely to the Sri Lankan population as meningococcal meningitis is rare in Sri Lanka. However, it is important to prevent it from entering the country as it has a high mortality rate,” the consultant explained.

Despite the mandatory requirement to administer the said vaccine to those who leave for Mecca, the consultant claimed that the Ministry had failed to do so this year and that some general doctors had instead administered vaccines that the consultant claimed had not been stored in proper cold storage. “Around 3,500 Sri Lankan pilgrims have received visas to travel to Mecca this year and some have already left. Since the vaccine is not available at the APHO office, some general doctors have given an unregistered vaccine which may have been brought to the country by ‘baggage carriers’. The required temperatures cannot be maintained when vaccines are brought in that manner.” Speaking further, the consultant said that the vaccine had not been available in the country for a period of about one year. Although a consignment of vaccines had been brought to the country, it has, according to the consultant, expired, and is still in ports due to delays in clearance from ports by the Ministry.

Commenting on the possible consequences of the non-administration of the vaccine, the consultant said that it may cause those who go on the Hajj pilgrimage to be infected with meningococcal meningitis and in turn, experience serious complications, even death, with the disease entering the country and spreading among the population. “If this at any point is spread in Sri Lanka, certain parties with racist ideologies may use this to create communal disharmony for their political advantage. Our diplomatic relationships with Saudi Arabia may also be strained when they understand that the authorities had deceived them. In addition, the State health sector will be undermined through this, so that the Government can find another reason as to why the health sector should be privatised.”

When contacted by The Daily Morning, Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandraguptha said that he is unaware of the matter, but that he will look into it. When questioned about allegations of improperly stored vaccines having been administered to those leaving for Mecca, he said: “If a doctor administers a vaccine, we will have to believe that they were stored according to the proper procedures. No doctor will administer improperly stored vaccines, will they?”

When contacted by The Daily Morning, Head of the Epidemiology Unit Dr. Samitha Ginige said that they had no responsibility with regard to the vaccination against meningococcal meningitis. “What we are responsible for is the National Immunisation Programme. We have no connection with this matter (vaccination against meningococcal meningitis). It is not through us that they are being imported and distributed,” he said.

Meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia are caused by various serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) which is an aerobic gram-negative encapsulated bacteria.