"A popular Virginia teen, Madison Small, died suddenly after complaining of a headache. The teen was taken to the hospital Monday night, but by Tuesday morning she was pronounced dead. The mysterious death left Madison’s family grieving and confused at how their daughter, who was the 'picture of health' could pass away so suddenly without warning. However, yesterday health officials announced an official cause for the teen’s untimely death, meningococcal meningitis."
Read more at: http://www.inquisitr.com/2001142/madison-small-teen-dies-suddenly-after-complaining-of-headache-autopsy-reveals-cause-of-death/#Oo5YKkeECje24D7z.99
Meningococcal meningitis outbreak in Niger kills 147.The Ministry of Public Health of Niger notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of 1543 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 147 deaths this year to date.
ReplyDeletehttp://outbreaknewstoday.com/meningococcal-meningitis-outbreak-in-niger-kills-147/
A seventh person has been diagnosed with meningococcal disease linked to the University of Oregon outbreak, Oregon Public Health officials confirmed Friday.
ReplyDeleteThe 52-year-old father of a student visited the campus between May 2 and 3, and since has been diagnosed with the bacterial disease. It’s the first case of a nonstudent contracting the disease in the current UO-centered outbreak...
Lauren Jones, an 18-year-old member of the university’s acrobatics and tumbling team, died of the disease Feb. 17. In the other UO cases, the students all have recovered.
See: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33139497-75/seventh-person-diagnosed-with-meningococcal-disease-linked-to-university-of-oregon.html.csp
In Wisconsin, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) has received a report of a confirmed case of bacterial meningitis (meningococcal disease) in an adult Milwaukee resident. The MHD has identified close contacts to the case, and has provided appropriate information and medical resources, including the availability of antibiotics, to these individuals...
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed fifth invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) case in DuPage County – the first in the Chicago suburbs. This case brings the total number affiliated with the outbreak (identified among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chicago) to five, including one fatality.
See: http://dgalerts.docguide.com/il-wi-usa-meningococcal?nl_ref=newsletter&pk_campaign=newsletter
Scott Parkhurst of Portland, Oregon, speaking about his son Jacob: "In 36 hours, my son was dead."
ReplyDeleteAlicia Stillman of Kalamazoo, Michigan, mother of Emily: "By the next day, Emily was in a coma. I never saw her look at me and tell me she loved me before she died."
Frankie Milley about her son Ryan: "I'll never dance with my son at a wedding. I'll never hold a grandchild."
They were among dozens urging the committee to take the strongest action possible and put a recently FDA approved vaccine for serogroup B on the adolescent immunization schedule. Serogroup B is one of several strains of meningococcal disease, a rare but serious bacterial infection, and according to the CDC, causes one out of every three cases of meningococcal disease.
A quadvaccine for the other four main types of meningococcal disease, A, C, W-135 and Y, has been fully recommended for 11-to-12-year-olds by the CDC since 2005. That's what parents and other advocates wanted to happen for this new vaccine for serogroup B, called MemB.
Instead, the committee voted for a category B or "permissive" recommendation in adolescents 16 to 23, with a preferred age of 16 to 18. A "permissive" recommendation leaves it up to each parent and child to make the decision to vaccinate after a qualified health professional assesses their risk.
'Is my child fully protected or not?'
"We know that permissive recommendations don't allow for education, there is a hesitancy among physicians to recommend, and it confuses parents. 'Is my child fully protected or not?' " Frankie Milley of Meningitis Angels told the committee before the vote.
"My parents have tried to get me the vaccine, and it took six months to get it," complained Jackie Ross. Her older sister Stephanie died from meningococcal disease at Drexel University in Philadelphia in March 2014. "Parents should not have to work this hard to get an FDA approved vaccine for their child."
The committee voted for a category B recommendation after a lively discussion on the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, questions about the duration of the immunity and the cost of the vaccines, which averages $400 for the two-to-three-dose series.
"I know there are concerns about the cost of these vaccines, but I hope you're accounting for the costs of not vaccinating," said meningitis survivor Andy Marso, as he showed the committee his fingerless hands. "That first year after my initial infection, I racked up almost $2 million in medical bills. That would have bought a lot of vaccines, right?"...
Laurie Stelzer also spoke in front of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as part of the National Meningitis Association. She lost her daughter Sara to the deadly strain of bacterial meningitis last fall. She says she's disappointed the committee didn't vote for a full recommendation but is thankful that the ruling will pave the way for public and private health insurance coverage for the vaccine.
"I will continue to spread the word that the vaccine is approved and available and to spread the awareness of the symptoms of the disease," said Stelzer. "It will not be the end of the conversation."
See: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/24/health/meningitis-vaccine-cdc-ruling/
Courtesy of Doximity
State health officials are urging all men who have sex with men (MSM) to be vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis as soon as possible. The public health alert comes in response to the recent death of a Ramsey County [Minnesota] man, known to have sex with men, who became infected with the disease.
ReplyDeleteGiven an ongoing outbreak of meningococcal disease occurring among MSM in Chicago, officials with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are concerned about possible connections with the Minnesota man’s infection, though no direct connection has been found to date. Clusters of meningococcal disease among MSM have also occurred recently in New York and Los Angeles.
The man, who was in his 40s, died in mid-July and was found to be infected with serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis, the bacteria that can cause serious illness that often progresses rapidly and is fatal in about 10-15 percent of cases. This is the same serogroup that has caused the outbreak in Chicago. The deceased man was also HIV-infected - which placed him at greater risk for serious illness from the meningococcal meningitis. A majority of the confirmed meningococcal meningitis cases in the Chicago area were also in individuals that were HIV positive...
Seven cases including one fatality have been seen in the Chicago outbreak to date. All were men who have sex with other men; and therefore, Chicago Department of Public Health has recommended vaccination for all MSMs and has facilitated vaccination clinics.
http://dgalerts.docguide.com/mn-il-usa-meningococcal-meningitis-fatal-msm?nl_ref=newsletter&pk_campaign=newsletter
A fourth case of meningitis linked to a Scout trip to Japan has been detected in the Highlands.
ReplyDeleteThree Scouts from the Highlands have been receiving treatment for meningococcal disease after attending the 23rd World Scouts Jamboree.
The fourth case is a parent of another Scout who was on the trip.
Health Protection Scotland said it was working with colleagues in Sweden where there is one confirmed and two possible cases of meningitis among Scouts.
Dr Jim McMenamin, an HPA consultant epidemiologist, said the parent had followed medical advice after falling unwell.
He added: "The early alert to the international medical agencies and the scouting movement is ensuring that there is rapid identification of any suspect cases, as has been seen in Sweden."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-33978961
Courtesy of: http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/GeneralOBGYN/53131?isalert=1&uun=g906366d4448R5793688u&xid=NL_breakingnews_2015-08-19
A meningococcal death of a student at Dakota Wesleyan University has prompted the South Dakota Department of Health to encourage vaccination...
ReplyDelete“This is a serious illness but we want to emphasize that prophylaxis is only necessary for those who had very close contact, such as sharing a water bottle or kissing, or roommates. Those with casual contact are at low risk and do not need antibiotic prophylaxis.”...
South Dakota has reported nine cases of meningococcal infection in the past 5 years.
http://dgalerts.docguide.com/south-dakota-usa-meningococcal-disease-fatal?nl_ref=newsletter&pk_campaign=newsletter