2024-02-11 17:06:00
the essentials A 19-year-old student died last Thursday in Lille. The young woman had been contaminated by meningococcal bacteria. Health authorities have traced everyone with whom the victim came into contact in recent days.
It was a terrible tragedy that unfolded last Thursday, February 8: a 19-year-old student died in Lille (North) after being infected with meningococcal bacteria. Victim of illness, the young woman’s state of health suddenly deteriorated. On site, the health authorities deployed a certain number of measures. La Dépêche du Midi returns in several points to what happened.
What happened ?
The events took place last Thursday, February 8. According to our colleagues at The voice of the North, a 19-year-old student enrolled in the first year of medicine at the Catholic University of Lille suffered a sudden illness while she was at home. Emergency services were notified: firefighters from the Lille-Littré barracks, accompanied by a team from the Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service (Smur), went to the scene.
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Despite the intervention of emergency services, the young woman’s state of health continued to deteriorate. In a press release, the Catholic University indicated that the victim had suffered an infection with a meningococcal type bacteria.
What do we know about this bacteria?
Health authorities have been warning of an increase in invasive meningococcal infections (IIM) for several months. In November 2023, the Pasteur Institute had highlighted an “unprecedented rebound in the disease after the end of the health measures put in place during the Covid-19 epidemic. A situation mainly affecting 16-24 year olds. “This resurgence of meningitis could well increase in the months to come with the seasonal flu epidemic, warns the Pasteur Institute. Indeed, the flu virus creates a favorable context for the development of meningococcal bacteria. “
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In detail, meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the thin membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The disease is characterized by symptoms such as neck stiffness, fever, confusion or altered mental status, headache, nausea or even vomiting. It is transmitted “by droplets of respiratory or pharyngeal secretions”, describes the World Health Organization. Close contact through kissing, sneezing, coughing or promiscuity with an infected person promotes the spread of the disease. The fact remains that the bacteria identified here has “very low air resistance” according to the health authorities. Today, the disease is all the more difficult to prevent as the bacterial strains of meningococci currently responsible for meningitis are no longer the same as those circulating before the pandemic.
What prevention measures?
In this context, the Hauts-de-France Regional Health Agency began looking for people with whom the young 19-year-old student came into contact in recent days. A total of 13 people were identified: all were contacted by “health monitoring teams”. “The closest students, who have been in contact with the student since January 30, were contacted by the ARS services to benefit from antibiotic treatment,” explained the Catholic University.
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