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| A patient diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis is treated at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in HCM City. — Photo Phương Vy |
Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — A 30-month-old child with meningococcal meningitis died on Monday, prompting health officials to take preventive measures against the spread of the disease.
The child, from the city’s District 8, was admitted to the Pediatrics Hospital No 1 last Friday with a high fever, headache and skin rash, Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, deputy director of the city’s Health Department, said on Wednesday.
After six hours of treatment, doctors were unable to save the life of the child.
Samples of blood and cerebrospinal fluid were collected and sent to the Pasteur Institute in HCM City for testing, Hưng said.
Nguyễn Trí Dũng, director of the Preventive Medicine Centre, said “People who had close contact with the patient received antibiotics to prevent them getting the infection.”
“The centre is also closely monitoring the area for cases of meningococcal disease within the last 10 days so that early diagnosis and treatment should be given to infected people,” he added.
Meningococcal disease, which is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitides, is spread to other people who have had close contact with the patient.
A vaccination, as well as good hygiene practices, can help prevent the disease, Hưng said. — VNS
