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Meningitis vaccine
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Communities
5 public communities
Meningitis Now
6,774 members
Meningitis can strike in an instant, but the impact can last a lifetime. At Meningitis Now we offer support to anyone living in the UK who has been affected by this deadly disease. Our Health Unlocked forum is a place where you can share your meningitis experience, ask questions about the disease and find others who have been through a similar experience.
Group B Strep Support
746 members
This is a community dedicated to helping those affected by group B Strep (GBS). GBS is a common bacterium that lives in 20-30% of adults, usually with no symptoms or side-effects. Most commonly found in the intestines, it can also live in the vagina of adult women. It is a ‘commensal’ – an organism that lives on another without causing harm. GBS can cause infection, most often in newborn babies. It more rarely causes infection in adults (typically women during pregnancy or after birth, the elderly and those with serious underlying medical conditions causing impaired immune system). Although relatively uncommon, GBS is the most common cause of infection in newborn babies and of meningitis in babies under age 3 months. On average in the UK, one baby a day develops GBS infection - one baby a week dies and one survivor a fortnight has long-term disability.
Aspergillosis and Rare Fungal Infection Support
3,860 members
Serious fungal infections are very rare but also very under-diagnosed and that has several consequences. 1) There are many more cases than we currently know about 2) People who are diagnosed can be very isolated and benefit from community support This community is intended to address these issues by informing and educating people in the UK about serious fungal infections, what to look out for, how to get diagnosed and where the expert help is in the UK. We also feel that informing patients is a great way to support their medical teams. The National Aspergillosis Centre (www.nationalaspergillosiscentre.org.uk), currently based in Manchester is the main UK centre for the serious fungal infections caused by Aspergillus (see aspergillosis.org) and is where admin of this community is based, so we have all we need t to advise you on aspergillosis - maybe even get you a referral to this centre if warranted. This is also the site of the Mycology Reference Centre in Manchester (http://mrcm.org.uk/) which is a big skill base for the identification of all pathogenic fungi, consequently, we can support the diagnosis and treatment of other rare fungal diseases like cryptococcal meningitis, Candida bloodstream infection, Pneumocystis pneumonia and more. Note that we only support people who can use the UK NHS and only for questions and conversation about serious rare fungal infections and NOT the very common infections that you should be consulting your GP or pharmacist about - we cannot replace your relationship with your medical team but we may be able to help them help you. Any entries that seem to us to be better dealt with by your medical team first will be deleted. Any non-UK questions will also be deleted - sorry, but we are funded by the UK taxpayer and they have to come first!
LIVErNORTH
416 members
We are a adult liver patient support group based at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Whatever kind of liver disease you may have, we are here to support you. Whilst we will endeavour to assist you with any queries relating to liver disease it would be inappropraite for us to comment on liver function blood test as there are too many variables involved to generalise. Your hepatologist is the appropriate person to ask for advice in this instance.
British Liver Trust
36,594 members
The British Liver Trust helps everyone affected by any liver condition, providing support, information and guidance, and lobbying for improved services across the country. Liver Disease is the only cause of death on the increase and affects an estimated 20% of the population. Only by increasing awareness of the risks, campaigning and funding research will we reduce the impact of liver disease in the future.