A HARD-HITTING warning about the dangers of killer disease meningitis has been issued to coincide with World Meningitis Day.

The three leading UK meningitis charities have united to send a clear message to the public – make sure all children are vaccinated and the full range of symptoms are known because the disease can kill in under four hours.

Meningitis UK, Meningitis Trust and Meningitis Research Foundation say the brain bug kills more under-fives than any other infectious disease in this country and up to 500,000 people living in the UK have had either viral or bacterial meningitis.

Around 300 people die from the disease each year.

A new pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13, was introduced into the childhood immunisation programme this month, protecting against 13 strains of the disease, compared to the previous vaccine which covered seven.

This is in addition to the existing Hib and Meningitis C vaccines which have saved thousands of lives.

As yet there is no vaccine for Meningitis B, which is the most common strain in this country.

Meningitis can affect anyone, of any age, at any time.

Those most at risk are children under the age of five, those aged between 15 and 19, and people over 65.

The UK public surveillance agencies report there are still about 3,000 cases of life-threatening bacterial meningitis and septicaemia every year.

There are also believed to be more than 6,000 cases of viral meningitis in the UK every year.

Viral meningitis is rarely life-threatening, although it can leave people with debilitating aftereffects.

The symptoms of meningitis can include fever with cold hands and feet, headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright light, drowsiness, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, confusion and, in some cases, a rash which doesn't disappear under pressure. Symptoms can appear in any order and may not all appear at once.

For more about the illness, visit www.meningitis-trust.org or www.meningitisuk.org

The trust has as 24-hour nurse-led helpline: 0800 028 18 28.