A 17-year-old developed infectious shock, meningococcemia, and cardiopathy related to meningococcal infection resulting in being placed on a ventilator and in a coma.
Autorites remind the community that there is a vaccination for children.Neisseria meningitidis, often referred to as meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life-threatening sepsis.
About 10% of adults are carriers of the bacteria in their nasopharynx. It is an exclusively human pathogen it is the main cause of bacterial meningitis in children and young adults, causing developmental impairment and death in about 10% of cases.
It causes the only form of bacterial meningitis known to occur epidemically, mainly in Africa and Asia. It occurs worldwide in both epidemic and endemic form.
It is spread through saliva and respiratory secretions during coughing, sneezing, kissing, chewing on toys and even through sharing a source of fresh water.