Since the beginning of November, four cases of meningitis have been identified in Strasbourg. One of the people affected has died, the three others have been treated. The four infected young people had frequented the same night establishment: the live-club in Strasbourg.
If its name is scary especially when it concerns the little ones, meningitis remains less common and less known than the flu or other winter epidemics, although it can be dangerous in certain cases.
Meningitis what is it?
According to health insurance websitemeningitis is “an inflammation of the meninges, protective envelopes of the brain and spinal cord. They are generally infectious, most often due to a virus, more rarely to a bacterium, and sometimes to a fungus or a parasite”.
The bacteria are the meningococci which can cause diseases such as meningitis or septicemia.
In the case of the four patients affected in Strasbourg, it was a bacterium. In France, the number of bacterial meningitis was estimated at 1,448 cases in 2012, according to health insurance data. They represent 20 to 25% of so-called community meningitis (occurring in usual living conditions). They are therefore rarer but more virulent.
What are the symptoms?
Very strong headaches, red pimples on the skin, sensitivity to light, vomiting, abdominal pain are symptoms of meningococcal infection (caution, chickenpox, measles, mumps, primary HIV infection, among others, can create these same symptoms.)
For viral meningitis, certain symptoms called “meningeal syndrome” (headaches, photophobia and vomiting) are dominant and the general condition of the person is not altered.
How to detect an emergency?
In the event of poorly tolerated fever or the rapid appearance of several red or purple spots (purpura), it is advisable to contact 15 or your doctor immediately.
How is it transmitted?
The bacterium settles in the ENT sphere and is transmissible from man to man, following close and prolonged contact without a mask.
It should also be known that the epidemic can progress silently during the latency period when healthy carriers can transmit it. Wearing the mask and being attentive to possible symptoms, to react quickly is therefore recommended, especially since the treatment is very effective, if administered quickly.
Who is concerned?
If the different forms of meningitis mainly affect young children (under 5 years old), adolescents and young adults, everyone can be affected. In the majority of cases, meningococcal meningitis occurs in healthy individuals with no identifiable risk factors.
How to cure it?
The disease is usually mild. If the infected person does not suffer from an immune deficiency, recovery will most often be spontaneous. Healing then occurs without sequelae, following a few days.
Is she dangerous?
Meningitis can sometimes get into the blood and reach the brain. This infection is very fast and can be particularly virulent, which can cause death in the most serious cases.
There are acute or lightning meningitis and chronic meningitis (much rarer). On its website, the Health Insurance states: “chronic meningitis persists for more than a month and is caused by inflammatory or cancerous diseases, or by prolonged infectious pathologies occurring in immunocompromised people.
There are also meningitis non-infectious, linked for example to a autoimmune disease or to a cancer metastasis.
What are the means of prevention?
According to government websitethere are effective means of prevention, such as vaccines once morest certain types of meningococci:
– Vaccination once morest meningococcal C is mandatory for infants born since January 1, 2018.
– Since April 2022, vaccination once morest meningococcal B is recommended and covered by Health Insurance for all infants.
