Thousands warming up to take part in popular half-marathon

THE fight to raise awareness of a deadly strain of meningitis has been raised in Parliament, following the death of Hounslow student Paawan Purba.

Seema Malhotra, the MP for Feltham and Heston, has called for a debate in the autumn after meeting with the Purba family, from Heston, devastated by the loss of their young daughter who died last month in hospital less than 48 hours after becoming ill with Meningitis W.

She did not exhibit the telltale rash associated with meningitis and was thought to be suffering with flu.

Ms Malhotra, who attended the funeral of the 20-year-old last week, has also written to the health minister for more to be done to help prevent additional deaths.

She is also keen to increase the take-up of free vaccinations available to people under the age of 25.

Ms Malhotra said: “Our hearts go out to the family who have suffered such a devastating loss.

“Paawan was a pharmacology student at the University of East London with a bright future ahead of her.

“Despite the efforts of PHE and charities like Meningitis Now to raise awareness of this disease amongst younger age groups, and the fact that a vaccine is freely available to students, take-up levels nationally remain stubbornly low at 36%, with a considerable regional variance from as low as 5%.

“Much more needs to be done to address low levels of awareness of the disease and to increase the take up of vaccinations. We need action now to stop more young people, like Paawan, needlessly dying from this preventable disease.”

In support of the family, Ms Malhotra first raised the issue in Parliament on Thursday September 15, when she urged for more research to end the horrific disease.

Meanwhile a JustGiving page set up by Paawan’s family to raise funds for the Meningitis Research Foundation has been flooded with donations, passing £10k. THE fifth Ealing Half Marathon will be taking place on Sunday, with more than 7,000 covering the 13.1-mile route.

The race, which was voted best half-marathon in the UK in 2014, 2015 and 2016, starts and finishes in Lammas Park and is a single lap through Central Ealing, Montpelier, Pitshanger, West Ealing, Hanwell and St Stephen’s.

The half marathon starts at 9am, with the Ealing Mini-Mile taking place at 9.15am.

The Mini-Mile will see runners aged six to 16 running a one-mile route around Lammas Park.

Spectators are encouraged to watch their friends and family take part in the race at the following vantage points in Uxbridge Road, Drayton Bridge Road, Pitshanger Lane and Cuckoo Avenue, some of which benefit from seeing the runners pass twice.

Kelvin Walker, the race director, said: “As in previous years, the Ealing Half Marathon has sold out its public places well in advance of race day – and this year’s race is looking to be the biggest and best yet.

“We would like to thank everyone who has supported the race to make it such a fantastic community event – our partners, local businesses and residents.

“A big thank you also goes to the runners who keep coming back to support Ealing Half Marathon year after year, and we wish them all the best for their race on Sunday.”

The organisers of the Ealing Half Marathon are hoping to beat previous fundraising figures for the race’s three headline charities – Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK and CLIC Sargent.

In the past two years the race has raised more than £900,000.