A one and a half year old boy with sepsis in a critical condition was hospitalized in Ostrów Wielkopolski at the end of January. It was the third case of invasive meningococcal disease in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in the last few months.
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Information about a boy from the town of Ostrów, who fights for his life in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, was circulated in the local media in the last days of January [I].
In addition to treatment and mechanical ventilation, the small patient underwent extracorporeal dialysis for more than a week, which was necessary due to symptoms of acute renal failure. The conducted research confirmed that he was caused by dangerous bacteria – meningococcus type B. As the hospital in Ostrów Wielkopolski reports today, the boy’s condition improved, although due to thromboembolic complications he is staying at the Department of Surgery and Traumatology, where he underwent surgery at the end of February operative to repair the skin and other necrotic changes [II].
Two months earlier, another case of meningococcal B infection took place in Wielkopolska. This time a 4-year-old girl from Niechlód fell ill. At the end of November she was taken to hospital in Leszno, from where she was transported by ambulance to Poznań. The girl’s entire family of eight and a group of about 30 people from the kindergarten she attended were treated with chemoprophylaxis in the form of administration of an antibiotic [III].
At the end of October, also in the hospital in Leszno, a few-month-old infant from Rydzyna was hospitalized due to invasive meningococcal disease. At the time of admission to the ward, the child’s condition was serious. In this case, chemoprophylaxis was applied to 33 people from the young patient’s environment. Fortunately, after 14 days, the baby in good condition was discharged from the hospital [IV].
Dangerous for young children
Invasive meningococcal disease (IPD) is most often sepsis and / or meningitis [V]. More cases are recorded in the autumn-winter period [VI], which can partly explain the series of cases in Wielkopolska. It was no coincidence that the infections took place among young children.
– Age is a major risk factor for invasive meningococcal disease. As many as three-quarters of its cases concern children up to 5 years of age, with the peak incidence in the first year of life, which results from the immaturity of the immune system, explains Dr. Alicja Karney from the Foundation of the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw. The IMiD Foundation, together with GSK, conducts an educational campaign “Wyprzedź meningococcus”, the aim of which is to increase awareness of the risk of meningococci and the possibility of protection against them.
Meningococcal infection is often associated with long hospitalization followed by rehabilitation as the disease leaves its mark on it. Every third patient suffers from neurological disorders (e.g. hearing loss, mental retardation) or skin defects requiring a transplant. Sometimes limb amputation is even necessary [VII]. Unfortunately, one in five patients cannot be saved [VIII]. This statistic is related to the nature of the disease. Its first symptoms are not very characteristic (they resemble a cold or flu), therefore it is difficult to diagnose [IX]. And it develops rapidly – in just 24 hours it can become life-threatening [X].
– In the fight against meningococcus, time matters, which we often do not have. Therefore, the optimal way to protect against these dangerous bacteria are vaccinations, which can be used from the second month of life of a child – explains Dr. Alicja Karney. Vaccination against meningococcus type B is recommended in the first place, which in Poland is responsible for the highest number of infections [XI],8 – they also caused the disease in two children in Greater Poland. Meningococcal immunization is recommended but not reimbursed.
Find out more at WyprzedzMeningokoki.pl
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