One in four teenagers who had meningitis during infancy will not pass any GCSE exams

One in four teenagers who had meningitis during infancy will not pass any GCSE exams, according to new research published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. The findings are based on the GCSE exam results of 750 16- year-olds across England and Wales, 461 of whom had bacterial meningitis during their first year of life. Even five-year-olds who showed no signs of meningitis-associated disability were half as likely to achieve the national standard as others at the same type of school. The researchers recommend that all children who suffer meningitis in infancy should be monitored and provided with continuing educational...