A significant jump in meningococcal cases has prompted Victorian authorities to urge teenagers to get vaccinated against the potentially fatal disease ahead of summer.
Victoria has experienced a 40 per cent spike in people diagnosed with the bacterial disease, jumping to 73 cases so far in 2017, up from 52 cases at the same point last year.
The disease, which causes death in 10 per cent of cases within 48 hours, spreads at its peak in warmer weather and passes from person-to-person via social contact such as kissing, coughing, or sneezing.
