Jehan Nassif died from meningococcal disease in August.
Last Update: Thursday, October 5, 2006. 1:05pm (AEST)

Report into teen's death urges changes to meningococcal guidelines

The New South Wales Health Department is calling for the national guidelines on detecting meningococcal disease to be widened.

The department has released the summary of a report into the death of 18-year-old Sydney girl Jehan Nassif, who died from the disease in August.

She died three days after visiting her boyfriend's cousin, who had meningococcal disease and was being treated in Bankstown Hospital.

Ms Nassif's boyfriend and his cousin had just returned from an overseas holiday and had sat next to one another on a long-haul flight from Greece to Australia.

She was told she would not require antibiotics despite her boyfriend receiving them.

The report has recommended ambulances be equipped with antibiotics for treating people with symptoms of the disease.

It has also recommended that meningococcal response protocols be amended to identify intimate kissing as a risk factor.

It has also found ambulance officers involved failed to comply with protocols for patients who decline transport and has recommended a review of the matter.

NSW Health Minister John Hatzistergos says the Government has adopted the recommendations.

The report found it extremely unlikely Ms Nassif contracted the disease while visiting the hospital, but rather a carrier from within her circle of family or friends.

The Health Department says the victim's family chose not to participate in the inquiry and this has affected the results.

A summary of the full report has been released but some details have been censored to protect the family.

The department has also not released details of what ambulance officers told the inquiry, but says officers broke protocols for transferring patients who decline being taken to hospital.

The department's director-general, Helen Kruk, says it also wants a change in standards in identifying those at risk.

"We acted in accord with best clinical practice, however they did believe that the current protocols, both state and national, are somewhat weak in relation to the risk associated with intimate kissing," she said.

"What is important is that we got an early advise where we needed to actually change some of the procedures and also where we needed to make some recommendations about national change."