Olympic swimmer launches Encephalitis Day campaign

Double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington has visited the House of Commons last week to launch the Encephalitis Society's World Encephalitis Day campaign.
MP Kevin Hollinrake, Anne McIntosh and Dr Ava Easton at the World Encephalitis Day campaign launch.MP Kevin Hollinrake, Anne McIntosh and Dr Ava Easton at the World Encephalitis Day campaign launch.
MP Kevin Hollinrake, Anne McIntosh and Dr Ava Easton at the World Encephalitis Day campaign launch.

Ms Adlington, an ambassador of the charity which is based in Malton, spoke to MPs about her experiences of encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, and about this year’s global awareness campaign featuring the BrainWalk phone app. It is hoped users of the free app will have walked 52 million steps by the end of World Encephalitis Day on 22 February.

Dr Ava Easton, chief executive of the society, said: “Eight out of 10 people do not know what encephalitis is – a figure which we are striving to improve through our campaigns.”