Today we're marking the 25th anniversary of Meningitis Research Foundation. On 16th May 1989 we began our journey towards a world free from meningitis and septicaemia. With your help we've made a massive difference, thanks to vaccines, some forms of meningitis have almost disappeared, and death rates have halved thanks to improved recognition and treatment.

But despite all the breakthroughs of the last 25 years we still need your help to prevent the death, disability and suffering that families in the Ireland will still face.

One of our priorities at the moment is to look at meningitis in new born babies. The risk of babies contracting meningitis during their first 3 months of life is 70 times higher than that of an Irish adult, and over 80% of the cases aren't currently vaccine preventable.

Group B Streptococcal (GBS) disease accounts for around 50% of cases in new borns. We're funding research now to make sure a vaccine can be introduced as soon as possible.