Meningococcal infection is a notifiable infectious disease. Although the Health Protection Center recorded only 14 cases of invasive meningococcal infection in 2019, it can cause severe permanent sequelae such as amputation, brain injury, etc. and even death is not to be taken lightly.
Vaccine Academy coordinator Dr. Mak Shiu-king shared a case: ‘A child was admitted to the hospital with a fever and the medical staff treated him as usual. At that time he was still able to play, thinking it was just a common cold and that he would recover soon. After a while, the boy wanted to rest. Unexpectedly, the nurse When she took his temperature, she found that his breathing was shallow and his oxygen level his blood had dropped so he was sent to the intensive care unit to help him breathe with a ventilator, he was checked and diagnosed with a meningococcal infection, it was later found that the bacteria had gotten into his blood and the baby in the end he died.
6 serotypes
Meningococcal infection can be divided into 6 serotypes: A, B, C, W, X and Y. Type B is the most common in Hong Kong. For example, among the 10 cases of infection in 2018, half are was caused by meningococcus type B. The way of infection is mainly through contact with patients, such as eating at the same table, exposure to droplets from patients, etc. Therefore, the patient’s family members, caregivers and people living with them are at high risk. Babies and young children are more susceptible to infections because their immune systems are immature. Mai Zhaojing pointed out, “Studies have found that 5% to 35% of healthy adults also have meningococcus in the nasopharynx. Although they have not invaded the adult’s body, they can infect others.”
Serious sequences
Common symptoms of patients include high fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, photophobia, confusion, lethargy, etc. Infants and young children will show continual crying, reluctance to eat or difficulty feeding, irritability or irritability, inability to overeat activity or activity, body stiffness, indistinguishable from a common cold. However, after infection, germs can invade the brain and spinal cord lining to cause damage, and they can also invade the bloodstream to cause meningococcal blood disease. Pediatrician Dr. Feng Zhuowen continued, “If the diagnosis and treatment of meningococcal B infection is , can lead to permanent sequelae, such as hearing loss, memory impairment, learning disabilities, brain damage, epilepsy and kidney failure, have a mortality rate of 10% to 15%.
Originally released on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/health/fever-crying baby with fever-beware of meningococcal infection/351144?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
