According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in ten people are carriers of a disease-causing bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis. In most cases, they will not experience adverse effects.
However, a recent article carried by the International Business Times shows that others were not so lucky. As of June 2021, the Government of South Australia has announced five new cases of meningococcal, an often fatal disease that can cause death in a matter of hours. The new statistics bring the national death toll to ten, or twice the number of deaths for the previous year.
The Disease is Easily Misdiagnosed
Twenty-two-year-old Jaqueline Conticello was thought to have food poisoning. She left work early on the twenty-third of November complaining of stomach pains, but the following night was uneventful.
When Jaqueline’s parents checked on her that Saturday they found that she had been vomiting and complained of diarrhea. A rash on her back appeared to be a heat rash.
The family discussed going to the hospital that Saturday night but felt it would be better to wait until Sunday morning when the hospital would not be as crowded.
Death Can Occur Within Hours
Sunday morning, when her parents checked in on her, Jaqueline appeared to be feeling better. They left her at home and went out for the day. Upon their return, they checked on her again only to find Jaqueline was dead.
Jaqueline’s official cause of death on November 26, 2020, was meningococcal disease.
About Meningococcal Disease
The CDC reports that one in ten people carry the N. meningitidis bacteria, which is found in the upper part of the throat behind the nose. The bacteria are responsible for multiple illnesses and termed collectively as meningococcal disease.
The Department of Health in San Francisco describes the disease as affecting a layer of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal is spread through respiratory secretions. It is more common in children and infants.
The disease causes death in fifty percent of untreated cases. About ten to fifteen percent of patients who have received treatment may die. Patients who have survived meningococcal are often left with permanent brain injury, damage to their nervous system, or amputation of arms or legs.
About Symptoms
The meningococcal disease presents symptoms that include but are not limited to fever, pain and stiffness in the neck, purple rash, headache, nausea, vomiting, plus a sensitivity to light and various degrees of confusion. Symptoms may appear within four days after exposure.
Meningococcal can spread through respiratory secretions (coughing or kissing) but not by simply being in the same room as an infected person. In other words, the disease is not as contagious as the flu or the common cold.
As a precautionary measure, the CDC recommends antibiotics for anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person.
Parents of young children and babies should be on the alert for the following symptoms: vomiting, inactivity, irritability, or a bulge in a baby’s soft spot on its skull.
Although vaccine campaigns are being promoted to hopefully reduce complications of the disease, the vulnerable population (primarily infants and children) remains at risk.
