PARENTS in Worcestershire will be able to further protect their children against meningitis when a new booster vaccination is introduced.

The Department of Health plans to offer the immunisation against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a bacteria that can cause the disease, from April.

The vaccination will be made available to all children between the ages of six months and four years old.

"There should be no need for parents to contact their doctor," said Dr Tweddell, a consultant for South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust.

"Information will be distributed in the coming months though there has been no definite start date given yet. "

Since 1992, all children have been routinely immunised at two, three and four months old, causing incidents of Hib to fall dramatically.

Only two cases of bacterial meningitis have been recorded in Worcestershire in the past three years.

"We have seen very little of this type of meningitis though, nationally, there were 122 cases last year," said Dr Tweddell.

This week's decision was made after the Government's disease surveillance programme acknowledged a small but steady rise in Hib across the country.

"In order to halt and reverse this increase, a vaccination catch-up campaign is being planned," said Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government's Chief Medical Officer.

"We will be working closely with health professionals to finalise plans for the programme, and parents will be invited to bring their children for immunisation in the same way as other childhood vaccines."

Hib infection, if unchecked, can also lead to pneumonia, septic arthritis and pericarditis - a heart condition.

The booster vaccine will be available free from GPs across the county.