Students at risk after meningitis advice

National guidance against the routine administration of meningococcal C vaccinations is putting students at risk, it was claimed this week.

Health officials are having to make special arrangements to protect students enrolling at Cardiff University from the virus, after GPs in the students' home towns refused to vaccinate them. The virus caused the death of two Cardiff students in 1996. National health guidelines say doctors should not routinely vaccinate for meningitis because GPs encounter difficulty recovering the cost of the vaccination from their health authorities.