From the General Directorate of Public health of the Department of Health of Castilla-La Manchaand in relation to death due to meningococcal sepsis (meningitis) of a young 17-year-old student from Cabanillas del Campo, in the province of Guadalajara, it has been reported that the Epidemiology section of Guadalajara has already activated the action protocols.
Public Health recommends the administration of chemoprophylaxis (use of medications to prevent infection and its consequences) to patients. close contacts as soon as possible.
The close contacts of the case, as indicated by Epidemiology, have a increased risk of developing the disease compared to the general population, especially in the first 7-10 days after the appearance of the case. For this reason, administration of chemoprophylaxis to contacts as soon as possible is recommended.
Chemoprophylaxis is the first measure taken and the decision to offer vaccination should be made when the results of the type of meningococcus are available.
MENINGITIS. Meningitis and sepsis are not very common, but they are serious diseases. When someone has meningococcal sepsis, bacteria enter the bloodstream, multiply, and damage the walls of blood vessels. This causes bleeding in the skin and organs.
More than 95 percent of individuals who suffer from meningococcal disease are previously healthy or, at least, no special susceptibility to illness is detected in them.
The most effective measure to fight this disease and its dire consequences is systematic vaccination from an early age of life.
Meningococcal disease often represents a diagnostic challenge for the doctor, since in its initial phases it can be clinically indistinguishable from a banal infectious process. The initial symptoms may be nonspecific (fever) or even symptoms attributable to common viral processes (sore throat, abdominal pain, diarrhea). In adolescents, the diagnosis is usually later, which can lead to a higher risk of dying as a result of meningococcal disease. Fortunately, meningococcal disease is a rare disease.
The lethality of meningococcal disease, despite the improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic methods, continues to be high (average of 10 percent), being higher in cases of sepsis.