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Health officials are alerting doctors to be on the lookout for certain types of rare, serious meningococcal infections that are on the rise in the United States.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new health alert that these infections, which are caused by a certain strain of Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, may present with unusual symptoms. In the cases identified so far this year, about 1 in 6 people have died, a higher fatality rate than they typically see with meningococcal infections.
These cases are also unusual because they are striking middle-aged adults. Typically, meningitis infections strike babies or adolescents and young adults.
The CDC wrote in their health alert:
Cases caused by this strain are disproportionately occurring in people ages 30–60 years (65%), Black or African American people (63%), and people with HIV (15%). In addition, most cases of invasive meningococcal disease caused by ST-1466 in 2023 had a clinical presentation other than meningitis: 64% presented with bacteremia, and at least 4% presented with septic arthritis. Of 94 patients with known outcomes, 17 (18%) died; this case-fatality rate is higher than the historical case-fatality rate of 11% reported for serogroup Y cases in 2017–2021.
The health alert also shared details on symptoms:
Meningococcal disease, caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, is a rare but severe illness with a case-fatality rate of 10–15% even with appropriate antibiotic treatment. Meningococcal disease most often presents as meningitis, with symptoms that may include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, or altered mental status; or as meningococcal bloodstream infection, with symptoms that may include fever and chills, fatigue, vomiting, cold hands and feet, severe aches and pains, rapid breathing, diarrhea, or, in later stages, a dark purple rash.
While initial symptoms of meningococcal disease can at first be non-specific, they worsen rapidly, and the disease can become life-threatening within hours. Immediate antibiotic treatment for meningococcal disease is critical. Survivors may experience long-term effects such as deafness or amputations of the extremities.
CDC issues Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory to alert healthcare providers to an increase in invasive meningococcal disease, mainly attributable to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y.
Read the full alert: https://t.co/NnPyymVnG1 pic.twitter.com/BtJOhsN3cy
— CDC (@CDCgov) March 28, 2024
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new health alert that these infections, which are caused by a certain strain of Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, may present with unusual symptoms. https://t.co/SqtghMCePM
— WPSD Local 6 (@WPSDLocal6) March 28, 2024
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