Ho Chi Minh City records first death case due to meningococcus

According to quick information from the Tropical Diseases Hospital, the deceased was a 52-year-old female worker (residing in Binh Chanh district) who was admitted to the hospital at 11:00 a.m. on September 24 with rapid breathing, blood pressure of 150/90mmHg, widespread bleeding throughout the body, and central necrosis in some areas. The disease started 1 day before with fever, chills, and body aches. In the afternoon of the same day, purple-pink rashes appeared starting from the arms and spreading throughout the body.

Immediately after admission, the patient was resuscitated, put on a ventilator, dialysis, and given antibiotics and vasopressors. However, due to his severe condition, the patient died 6 hours after admission.

Immediately after receiving the information, the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control coordinated with the Binh Chanh District Medical Center and the Da Phuoc Commune Medical Station to go to the patient's home to investigate contacts and implement measures to handle and prevent infectious diseases according to regulations.

The investigation results recorded that the patient was living with her husband in a boarding house in Da Phuoc commune, Binh Chanh district and working as a worker at a company in Long An province. The investigation results also recorded that there were 2 people in close contact with the patient. Both people did not have any suspected symptoms of the disease, were given preventive antibiotics by medical staff and instructed to self-monitor their health according to the Ministry of Health's guidelines on monitoring and preventing meningococcal disease.

At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control has activated the process of sharing disease information among regionally linked provinces to notify the Long An Provincial Center for Disease Control to coordinate epidemiological investigations.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, meningococcal disease is an acute bacterial infection caused by meningococcal bacteria (Neisseria meningitidis), commonly found in young people and capable of causing epidemics.

The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract, mainly through direct contact with the source of the disease by inhaling nasal, pharyngeal, and throat secretions (sick people and healthy carriers), easily causing large epidemics.

The disease has clinical manifestations such as purulent meningitis, sepsis, septic shock, arthritis, pericarditis... in which purulent meningitis and sepsis are more common. The disease often leaves severe sequelae such as mental retardation, deafness, paralysis with a rate of 10 - 20%. The mortality rate can be from 8 - 15%.

In the community, the rate of people carrying the bacteria without clinical symptoms (healthy carriers) in the nose, throat, and pharynx ranges from 5% to 25%. This rate is even higher in epidemic areas.

The disease often occurs in crowded places such as kindergartens, schools, dormitories, barracks... People with immunodeficiency or respiratory co-infection.