PARENTS with young children were today urged to take advantage of a new campaign which aims to immunise all youngsters against a deadly bug which can lead to meningitis and other serious illnesses.

Health officials were due to launch an extensive booster vaccination programme for children aged between six months and four years against the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) today.

In the last 12 months, two children aged under five in East Lancashire caught meningitis from the bug, which they later recovered from.

Over the next four months, all parents in East Lancashire with children between the designated age groups, will be sent letters asking them to attend a clinic to have their child vaccinated.

East Lancashire Public health consultant Dr John Asprey said he hoped all parents will see how the importance of protecting their children.

He said "It is very important to get as good a response as possible from all children in this age group.

"This will ensure their protection and also reduce levels of circulation of the bug, protecting very young children against Hib disease, and especially Hib meningitis, before they have completed their own immunisation schedule."

Jabs against Hib began in 1992 and were initially a great success. Before then one in every 600 children developed some form of Hib disease and each year in England and Wales, 30 died and another 80 suffered permanent brain damage.

In 1992 the Hib vaccine was offered to all children under the age of five and since then has been part of the routine childhood vaccination programme.

This led to a dramatic drop in serious infections and over the last ten years the vaccination programme has prevented an estimated 7,300 cases and 270 deaths in children under four years. But since 1999, the disease has been on the increase.

In most cases, children eligible to receive the booster vaccination -- born between April 2, 1999, and October 1, 2002 -- and those reaching 6 months of age during the campaign will be asked to go to wherever their child usually receives their immunisation. In some cases there will be special clinics.

Parents will receive two weeks notice of appointments, and the campaign will run for four months.