Meningococcal disease hits two UWO students

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2009/11/18/11786051-sun.html

Meningococcal disease hits two UWO students

By SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 18th November 2009, 10:28am

Two University of Western Ontario students have been diagnosed with meningococcal disease.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit said the students were diagnosed with the serogroup B meningococcal for which there is no vaccine, the same strain that infected four people in April.

Health officials say the only way to contract the disease is through an exchange of saliva or other nose and throat secretions; it does not spread through the air.

Only those who've been in close contact with the sick students would be at risk. Students are regularly vaccinated against other forms of the disease, which can cause meningitis, a swelling of the brain and spinal cord, or meningococcemia, an infection of the blood stream.

Symptoms of meningococcal disease include fever, severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting and sometimes a red pin-point rash accompanied by bruising.

For more information, the public is urged to visit the health unit's website at health unit.

 

[Missouriwatcher]

Re: Meningococcal disease hits two UWO students

CDC: 2009 H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza Infections and Invasive Pneumococcal Disease

What percentage of people hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 flu have developed invasive pneumococcal disease?

We do not know the exact percentage. Some people who have 2009 H1N1 flu will develop invasive pneumococcal disease; those who do may not develop symptoms of invasive pneumococcal disease until several days or even a week after they experience flu symptoms. Because of this timing and because not everyone is tested for both infections, we don?t know what percentage of people hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 flu go on to develop invasive pneumococcal disease.

Is 2009 H1N1 flu associated with an increase in invasive pneumococcal disease?

Possibly. Some ABCs sites have seen greater than expected numbers of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease coincident with increases in flu-associated hospitalizations. We don't know whether 2009 H1N1 flu actually caused this increase but CDC is pursuing that question with state and local public health officials. For a graphical representation of this data, please see the chart below, which represents one ABCs site.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/qa_pneumococcal_disease.htm