'Meningococcal meningitis if not treated promptly can cause death within 24 hours'

(Baonghean) - Doctor CKII Nguyen Van Son - Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases - Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital discussed the case of fulminant meningococcal meningitis that recently appeared in Nghe An.

PV:Could you please tell us about the symptoms when admitted to the hospital and the current condition of the child with meningococcal meningitis?

BSCKII Nguyen Van Son:On August 8, 6-year-old Ho Huu Trung Kien in Quynh Trang commune, Hoang Mai town, Nghe An was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, no convulsions, headache, vomiting, lethargy, and incontinence. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, headache, vomiting, lethargy, incontinence, and especially with hemorrhagic rashes concentrated in the abdomen and back. The disease progressed rapidly, within a few hours, many necrotic hemorrhagic rashes appeared. We performed a spinal tap and found increased pressure, the fluid was cloudy like rice water, protein in the acute cerebrospinal fluid, dense microscopic cells, and neutrophils accounted for nearly 92%. Blood tests showed a very high white blood cell count, up to 21,000 WBC. Based on the patient's typical signs and through the results of examination and testing, it was concluded that the patient had fulminant meningococcal meningitis. Currently, after 2 days of treatment, the child's health has improved.

Doctors examine infected children

PV:It is known that meningococcal meningitis is an acute infectious disease, so could you please tell us the nature of meningococcal meningitis?

Doctor CKII Nguyen Van Son:Meningococcal meningitis is a dangerous disease that can cause septic shock after only a few hours of infection. Meningococcal encephalitis and meningitis is an acute infection caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningtidis. There are four main groups of bacteria: A, B, C, and D. Groups A and B meningococcal meningitis are the most common. The main sources of infection are patients and healthy people carrying the bacteria. The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract by inhaling droplets of respiratory secretions containing the pathogen. Anyone can be infected with meningococcal bacteria, the group at highest risk of the disease is young people.

When infected with meningococcal bacteria, the incubation period is 2-10 days, usually 3-4 days. Patients have symptoms of fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck (children have bulging fontanelles), drowsiness, sensitivity to light, and may have asterisk-shaped hemorrhagic rash or signs of septic shock... These symptoms are similar to encephalitis and meningitis caused by other common viruses. The number of cases is not high, but meningococcal meningitis is an acute infectious disease that can lead to death or leave many serious sequelae, especially spread through the respiratory tract, so it is always warned to be dangerous. Patients can even die within 24 hours of the onset of the disease.

PV:Could you please tell us how to prevent and advise people about meningococcal disease?

Doctor CKII Nguyen Van Son:Meningococcal meningitis progresses very quickly and if not treated promptly can lead to death within 24 hours. If the patient survives, it can leave sequelae after recovery such as deafness, paralysis, mental disorders... Therefore, when detecting symptoms such as high fever, fatigue, vomiting, pale skin and hemorrhagic patches on the skin... the family needs to take the patient to the hospital immediately to avoid bad situations.

Meningococcal meningitis is not like seasonal epidemics, this is a disease that can appear at any time. Therefore, people should not be subjective with any symptoms of meningococcal meningitis. To prevent meningitis caused by meningococcus, people need to proactively vaccinate children from 2 years old and up against meningococcal meningitis. We inject the first dose when the child is 2 years old, then 3-4 years later we inject the second dose. At the same time, practice good personal hygiene, regularly wash hands with soap, gargle, with a common nasal and throat antiseptic solution. Keep the living and working place clean and airy.

PV:Thank you doctor!

Thanh Hoa - Quynh Trang(Perform)