Young and healthy people can still die within 24 hours if they contract meningococcal disease.

Since the beginning of the year, hospitals have been continuously treating severe meningococcal cases, including deaths. The deceased was a 24-year-old soldier who had cardiac arrest outside the hospital due to fulminant meningococcal septic shock. Previously, the patient only had symptoms of fever, nausea and abdominal pain. Most recently, Bach Mai Hospital also treated two patients, aged 21 and 17, with severe meningococcal disease. Of these, the 17-year-old patient in Thai Binh had complications of myocarditis and cerebral infarction. 74 cases in close contact with the patient are being monitored.

Meningococcal disease can cause death within 24 hours.

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According to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (Ministry of Health), meningococcal disease is one of the 10 infectious diseases with the highest mortality rate in Vietnam. The disease can cause death within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. The initial symptoms of the disease such as fever and sore throat are easily confused with the common cold, making it difficult to detect and diagnose early.

According to the Ministry of Health, meningococcal disease can occur in all subjects, in which the two groups with the highest incidence of the disease are children under 5 years old and adolescents.

The Department of Disease Prevention (Ministry of Health) recorded that about 50% of patients with meningococcal disease die if not treated and the mortality rate is up to 15% even with timely treatment. Up to 20% of patients who survive meningococcal disease suffer from many physical and mental sequelae such as amputation, deafness, blindness, mental and behavioral retardation, etc.

Meningococcal bacteria are transmitted through the respiratory tract, the main source of infection is patients and healthy people carrying the bacteria. According to the Department of Disease Prevention, 10-20% of people carry meningococcal bacteria but do not show symptoms, making the source of infection difficult to control. In particular, studies estimate that 24% of 19-year-olds carry high levels of meningococcal bacteria without showing symptoms.

Experts explain that because the rate of healthy people carrying the virus is high and they often engage in intimate behaviors such as kissing, smoking or living in crowded places such as dormitories, clubs, schools, festivals, etc., the risk of infection among young people is even higher.

The habit of gathering with friends or traveling to many places without awareness of prevention can increase the risk of meningococcal infection in young people.

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In addition, vaccination is currently only focused on young children, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases, while the youth group is lacking. While this can be considered the group with the most contagious lifestyle such as liking to gather in crowded places, living in the same dormitory, and having close contact.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that vaccination is the best control strategy to help prevent outbreaks and cases of meningococcal disease. Experts say that meningococcal bacteria have 13 meningococcal serogroups, of which 6 groups A, B, C, X, Y, W are the cause of 90% of invasive meningococcal disease cases in the world.

Currently, there are 5 serogroups that cause disease that have vaccines in Vietnam, including the US ACYW group, the Cuban BC group and the Italian B group. A study in the US on mortality rates by serogroup causing meningococcal disease reported in the period from 2017 to 2021, group W had the highest mortality rate, accounting for 21.5%, followed by group C (14.6%), group Y (9.8%) and B (9.6%). Since its introduction, the quadrivalent conjugate vaccine A, C, Y, W-135 has helped reduce by up to 90% the number of cases in adolescents caused by the main serogroups C, Y, W.

Infectious diseases can leave lifelong disabilities.

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Adolescents should be fully vaccinated against all five major serogroups. Lack of protection against one or more of these serogroups may also result in an increased risk of meningococcal disease.

Of these, the ACYW quadrivalent conjugate vaccine is currently used in more than 70 countries around the world with hundreds of millions of doses administered. According to the US CDC, since its introduction, the ACYW quadrivalent conjugate vaccine has reduced the number of cases of meningococcal disease by 90% in the main serogroups causing disease C, Y and W.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-tre-khoe-van-co-the-tu-vong-chi-trong-24-gio-neu-mac-nao-mo-cau-185250414143440875.htm