After the death of two students, the ARS will organize an expanded vaccination campaign within the student community.
As a preventive measure, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté will launch, in January, an “extended vaccination campaign” following three cases of meningitis, including two fatalities, declared among the student community. from Dijon (Côte-d’Or)
The agency specifies having “identified 48 people” who had “close and repeated contact with the deceased student to recommend antibiotic prophylaxis” and “invite them to be vaccinated”.
“Collective prevention”
“With the aim of collective prevention, in conjunction with the General Directorate of Health, Public Health France, the Dijon academy, and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté University, it will supplement these measures with an expanded vaccination campaign, in preparation course, ”she adds. This campaign “will begin in January and will be organized in stages”.
Meningococcus is a very fragile germ that does not survive in the environment but is transmitted through saliva. Inflammation of the meninges is often linked to an infection of these envelopes by a virus or a bacterium (more rarely a fungus or a parasite). Meningitis can occur at any age, but it most affects children and adolescents.
A rare infection
In adults and older children, meningitis most often results in a combination of signs called “meningeal syndrome”. This most often combines: severe headaches (“headaches”), stiff neck, high fever, intolerance to light (“photophobia”) and nausea or vomiting. If in doubt, consult quickly.
Invasive meningococcal infections are relatively rare in France. In 2015, 469 cases were still notified and 53 deaths were recorded, according to the National Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVs).
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