Each year, 8,000 cases of meningitis are identified in France. Most of the patients are infants or young children: 10% of them succumb to the disease and 6% of survivors have irreversible sequelae.
This Thursday, March 29, 2018, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Auvergne announced the death of a 16-year-old teenager in Hauterives (26). This Wednesday, the high school student succumbed to meningitis; however, “the strain of meningococcus has not yet been determined,” says the ARS. Since the beginning of March, this is the second case of meningitis listed in France. Friday March 9, 2018, the disease indeed took away a 17-year-old teenager attending school in Niort (79).
A preventive antibiotic treatment for 80 people
As a preventive measure, the schoolgirl’s relatives received antibiotic treatment. Family, member of the deceased’s sports club, high school students, school staff … In total, 80 people (having been in direct contact with the teenager, that is to say less than a meter away and for more than an hour) were contacted by the Regional Health Agency.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membrane that surrounds and protects the central nervous system. Usually of viral origin (frequent but also benign) or bacterial (rarer and more severe), meningitis can also occur following a head trauma or a surgical act. The disease manifests itself via fever, chills, headaches, vomiting, photophobia (pain when facing light), phonophobia (pain when facing sound) …
Vaccination against meningococcal infections is mandatory in infants born from January 1, 2018 with a first dose at the age of 5 months. Vaccination is also recommended for unvaccinated people up to the age of 24.
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