At least 26 cases of meningococcal infection have been registered in Bishkek for nine months of 2022. At least 16 of them were in children under 14. The capital’s center of state sanitary and epidemiological surveillance reported.
According to it, despite the resuscitation measures, two cases of death were recorded.
Meningococcal infection is predominantly a childhood disease, but adults are also at risk of infection.
«Meningitis begins acutely with a rise in body temperature to high numbers against the background of complete wellness. Parents can name the hour when the child fell ill. He or she becomes very restless, has a sharp headache, repeated vomiting, impaired consciousness, agitation and even delirium. The characteristic posture of the patient is lying on the side with head thrown back and legs pulled up to the stomach,» the doctors said.
«An important difference from food poisoning is that in case of meningitis, vomiting does not bring relief. After a few hours, a rash may appear on the limbs, buttocks, lateral surfaces of the body, which does not disappear with pressure. The appearance of rash is the most terrible symptom, although many parents assume that this rash is the result of an allergy or something else,» the Center of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision noted.
With this form of the disease, death can occur if patients seek medical help too late.
The source of infection is primarily a sick person, especially with severe forms of the disease. But no less dangerous are the so-called bacterial carriers and patients with nasopharyngitis. Most often these are adults who do not even suspect about it, since there are no signs of the disease. You can also get infected by airborne droplets. The time from the moment of infection to the manifestation of the disease is estimated from one to 10 days, on average two to three days. This infection mostly appears in winter-spring. The outcome of the disease largely depends on the patients.
The sooner the patient sees a doctor, the faster and without complications recovery will come.
At the first signs of the disease, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance team, hospitalize the patient and in no case self-medicate.
For prevention, it is necessary to improve immunity: to intensify physical training and sports, to carry out preventive treatment of diseases of the nasopharynx — tonsillitis, laryngitis, pharyngitis.
The causative agent of meningococcal infection quickly dies in the external environment, so it is necessary to ventilate the premises and carry out wet cleaning. It is also necessary to avoid crowded places, walk in the fresh air and wash hands often.
