Around Chambéry (Savoie) and in the east of Lyon (Rhône), more than 56,000 mailboxes received the same mail: young people from 16 to 24 years old and children from 0 to 2 years old are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated against meningitis. The sector has indeed seen a sharp increase in cases of contamination over the past year, including one fatal and two serious.
What worries the health authorities? This is a new variant of meningococcal B“that we did not know until now”, said Anne-Sophie Ronnaux-Baron, head of health monitoring at the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Health Agency. “Meningococcal form B is not known to be responsible for epidemics, like A or Cadds professor of infectiology Jean-Paul Stahl to the Parisian. But she kills! It causes approximately 15% of deaths, sometimes in a few hours. You have to take it very seriously.”
What do we know about this new variant?
Over the past year, this new strain has grown, particularly among 16-21 year olds. For the moment, little scientific data is known, given the recent nature of this new variant.
What we do know is that this new variant can be passed on to babies under 2 years old, hence the strong recommendation of vaccination in this age group. Since April 2022, this vaccine has in any case been recommended by HAS for children of this age, independently of this hyperendemic situation.
How many cases have been observed?
In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, “we have recorded 27 cases of meningococcal B meningitis for a year, and there have been 12 cases corresponding to the new variant”, indicates the head of the ARS. Among these 12 cases, a young man died, one case has sequelae, and another a “purpura fulminans, small purplish red spots which appear all over the body and which are generally of poor prognosis“, she laments.
How is the disease transmitted?
Located in the tonsils, the bacterium is transmitted during close and prolonged contact with an infected person (who may be a healthy carrier), by “droplets”, either by kissing or during from a sneeze or cough.
What are the symptoms that should alert?
Themeningococcal B infection manifests itself mainly by symptoms such as fever, severe headaches often accompanied by vomiting.
Other symptoms may be more worrisome markers of disease severity. “There may also be impaired consciousness, diarrhea, intolerance to light or noise, stiff neck, significant body aches, great fatigue, drowsiness and paralysis in the eyes or convulsions”explains Anne-Sophie Ronnaux Baron at France 3.
Sources:
- INTERVIEW. Meningitis: a new variant of meningococcus B kills one in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the ARS “encourages vaccination”, France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesAugust 11, 2022
