Search This Blog

Monday, November 1, 2010

US : Scientists differ on severity of meningitis outbreak

Via 9 News :

" FORT COLLINS : After five of the seven people infected with bacterial meningococcal disease died of the illness this year in Northern Colorado, experts disagree about how extraordinary the outbreak is.

"You have an outbreak in Colorado that is, as far as I know, unprecedented," said Paul Offit, a national vaccination expert and the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Larimer County's outbreak is particularly unusual for the death rate among those who have become infected with meningococcal disease and so many different cases being linked together, says Lisa Miller, acting chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The current outbreak can be traced back to a Metro State College student who died after being infected with the virulent Group C strain of meningococcal bacteria. The same strain of bacteria killed CSU student Christina Adame, 23, and Fort Collins Adult Hockey Association player William Jubert, 52, earlier this month and hockey players Brian Wormus, 29, and Nick Smith, 28, in June.

All of those cases are linked, and the bacteria that killed them shared the same genetic fingerprints."

No comments:

Post a Comment