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This new bacterial meningitis is resistant to Cipro
AND vaccines do not work against it.
Very very nasty.
Deadly new superbug emerges in Minnesota
Two cases of drug-resistant meningococcal disease found; one in North Dakota
BY JEREMY OLSON
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 02/09/2008 12:00:35 AM CST
The nation's first known cases of antibiotic-resistant meningococcal disease surfaced in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota over the past year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Health authorities on Friday asked doctors in the Fargo-Moorhead area to stop using ciprofloxacin for preventive treatment of people in close contact with meningococcal patients and to use antibiotics outside the quinolone family.
The drug-resistant strains are the latest evidence of antibiotic overuse, particularly in patients whose colds are viral and not bacterial.
"Even though there are other drugs that can be used to prevent meningococcal disease, having one less weapon in our arsenal reminds us of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use," said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist.
The two Minnesota cases turned up last month, one involving a 53-year-old from Marshall County who died and a second involving a 22-year-old student at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. The North Dakota case in January 2007 involved a child at a Fargo day care facility.
The bacterial strains in all three cases are similar, but the patients had no known connections. Health officials believe these strains are simply circulating in the region. As many as 15 percent of people can have a meningococcal bacteria in their throats or noses at any given time, but only a few suffer severe infections.
Federal officials have been anticipating such a case.
official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traveled to the region Thursday and was taking random throat swabs in an attempt to find someone carrying the drug-resistant bacteria.
Close friends of the patients have been treated as a precaution, so the CDC official will go to college campuses, bars and other high-traffic locations. The infected student took music lessons, so other music students might be tested, said Richard Danila, assistant state epidemiologist.
Danila stressed that these first cases are significant but shouldn't worry the general public or cause people to demand preventive treatment. That the strain in the 53-year-old who died was drug-resistant didn't factor into the fatality, Danila said, as patients with the infection aren't treated with ciprofloxacin.
All three patients developed meningitis, a swelling of the brain and spinal cord, and required hospital care.
Minnesota is one of a dozen or so states that test meningococcal strains for antibiotic resistance. That partly explains why the first case was discovered here.
While a vaccine protects against two-thirds of these bacterial infections, it wouldn't have worked against this particular strain.
The vaccine is recommended for children ages 11 to 18 and college freshmen. Meningitis cases are somewhat rare, with an average of 24 per year since 2000 in Minnesota. Twenty-two deaths have been linked to the bacterial infection from 2000 through 2006 in the state, 10 of them involving people 23 or younger.
A 19-year-old woman from River Falls, Wis., died in May 2006 of a meningitis infection despite having been vaccinated. A 15-year-old died in a highly publicized outbreak in Mankato in 1995.
Viruses also can cause meningitis, but those cases aren't usually as severe.
Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.
AT A GLANCE
Meningococcal disease: A series of infectious diseases, including meningitis, which is a swelling of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include high fever and severe neck pain.
Prevalence: Twenty-four cases per year in Minnesota, on average, since 2000. Antibiotic-resistant cases reported Friday were first on record in U.S.
Deaths: Twenty-two in 2000-2006, including 10 victims who were 23 or younger.
Vaccine: Recommended for 11-18 age group and college freshmen.
AND vaccines do not work against it.
Very very nasty.
Deadly new superbug emerges in Minnesota
Two cases of drug-resistant meningococcal disease found; one in North Dakota
BY JEREMY OLSON
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 02/09/2008 12:00:35 AM CST
The nation's first known cases of antibiotic-resistant meningococcal disease surfaced in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota over the past year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Health authorities on Friday asked doctors in the Fargo-Moorhead area to stop using ciprofloxacin for preventive treatment of people in close contact with meningococcal patients and to use antibiotics outside the quinolone family.
The drug-resistant strains are the latest evidence of antibiotic overuse, particularly in patients whose colds are viral and not bacterial.
"Even though there are other drugs that can be used to prevent meningococcal disease, having one less weapon in our arsenal reminds us of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use," said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist.
The two Minnesota cases turned up last month, one involving a 53-year-old from Marshall County who died and a second involving a 22-year-old student at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. The North Dakota case in January 2007 involved a child at a Fargo day care facility.
The bacterial strains in all three cases are similar, but the patients had no known connections. Health officials believe these strains are simply circulating in the region. As many as 15 percent of people can have a meningococcal bacteria in their throats or noses at any given time, but only a few suffer severe infections.
Federal officials have been anticipating such a case.
official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traveled to the region Thursday and was taking random throat swabs in an attempt to find someone carrying the drug-resistant bacteria.
Close friends of the patients have been treated as a precaution, so the CDC official will go to college campuses, bars and other high-traffic locations. The infected student took music lessons, so other music students might be tested, said Richard Danila, assistant state epidemiologist.
Danila stressed that these first cases are significant but shouldn't worry the general public or cause people to demand preventive treatment. That the strain in the 53-year-old who died was drug-resistant didn't factor into the fatality, Danila said, as patients with the infection aren't treated with ciprofloxacin.
All three patients developed meningitis, a swelling of the brain and spinal cord, and required hospital care.
Minnesota is one of a dozen or so states that test meningococcal strains for antibiotic resistance. That partly explains why the first case was discovered here.
While a vaccine protects against two-thirds of these bacterial infections, it wouldn't have worked against this particular strain.
The vaccine is recommended for children ages 11 to 18 and college freshmen. Meningitis cases are somewhat rare, with an average of 24 per year since 2000 in Minnesota. Twenty-two deaths have been linked to the bacterial infection from 2000 through 2006 in the state, 10 of them involving people 23 or younger.
A 19-year-old woman from River Falls, Wis., died in May 2006 of a meningitis infection despite having been vaccinated. A 15-year-old died in a highly publicized outbreak in Mankato in 1995.
Viruses also can cause meningitis, but those cases aren't usually as severe.
Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.
AT A GLANCE
Meningococcal disease: A series of infectious diseases, including meningitis, which is a swelling of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include high fever and severe neck pain.
Prevalence: Twenty-four cases per year in Minnesota, on average, since 2000. Antibiotic-resistant cases reported Friday were first on record in U.S.
Deaths: Twenty-two in 2000-2006, including 10 victims who were 23 or younger.
Vaccine: Recommended for 11-18 age group and college freshmen.
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