Meningococcal infection is a notifiable infectious disease. Although the Center for Health Protection only recorded 14 cases of invasive meningococcal infection in 2019, it can cause serious permanent sequelae such as amputation, brain injury, etc., and even death , must not be taken lightly.
The convener of the Vaccine Academy, 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. He was still able to play at that time, thinking that it was just a common cold and he would recover soon. After a while, the child wanted to rest. Unexpectedly, the nurse When taking his temperature, he found that his breathing was weak and his blood oxygen level dropped, so he was sent to the intensive care unit to help him breathe with a ventilator, and he was checked and diagnosed with meningococcal infection. Then it was found that the bacteria had entered the blood, and the child finally 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 infection cases in 2018, half of them were caused by meningococcus type B . The route of infection is mainly through contact with patients, such as eating at the same table, exposure to patient droplets, etc. Therefore, the patient’s family members, caregivers, and people living with them are at high risk. Infants and young children are more susceptible to infection 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 body, they may infect others.”
Severe sequelae
Common symptoms of patients include high fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, photophobia, confusion, lethargy, etc. Infants and young children will show continuous crying, unwillingness to eat or difficulty in feeding, irritability or irritable, inability to Too much activity or activity, body stiffness, indistinguishable from a common cold. However, after infection, the germs can invade the brain and spinal cord lining to cause damage, and can also invade the blood to cause meningococcal blood disease. Pediatrician Dr. Feng Zhuowen continued, “If the diagnosis and treatment of meningococcus B infection is delayed, it may lead to Permanent sequelae, such as hearing loss, memory impairment, learning disabilities, brain damage, epilepsy, and kidney failure, have been reported to have a mortality rate of 10% to 15%.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/health/fever-crying baby with fever-beware of meningococcal infection/351144?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral