A 19-year-old student dies of meningitis: infection, contact tracing… What do we know about the girl’s death?
A 19-year-old student died in Lille last Thursday. The girl was contaminated with meningococcal bacteria. Health officials have traced everyone the victim had come in contact with in recent days.
It was a terrible tragedy that unfolded last Thursday, February 8: a 19-year-old student died in Lille (North) after being infected with meningococcal bacteria. The health of the girl who suffered from the disease suddenly deteriorated. At the site, health officials set up a certain number of measures. La Dépêche du Midi Many points go into what happened.
what happened ?
The incidents took place last Thursday, February 8. According to our colleagues at The voice of the north, a 19-year-old student enrolled in the first year of medicine at the Catholic University of Lille, suddenly fell ill while she was at home. Emergency services were notified: firefighters from the Lille-Litre Barracks went to the scene, along with a team from the Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service (Smur).
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Despite the intervention of emergency services, the girl’s condition continued to deteriorate. In a press release, the Catholic University indicated that the victim was infected with a meningococcal type of bacteria.
What do we know about these bacteria?
Health authorities have been warning of an increase in invasive meningococcal infections (IIM) for several months. In November 2023, the Pasteur Institute highlighted an “unprecedented recovery in the disease after the end of health measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation is mainly among 16-24 year olds.” This resurgence of meningitis may well increase. The coming months, along with seasonal flu epidemics, also warn the Pasteur Institute. Indeed, the influenza virus creates a favorable context for the growth of meningococcal bacteria.”
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In detail, meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the thin membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The disease is characterized by symptoms such as neck stiffness, fever, confusion or altered mental status, headache, nausea or even vomiting. It is “transmitted by respiratory or pharyngeal secretion droplets”, describes the World Health Organization. Close contact with an infected person by kissing, sneezing, coughing or mixing promotes the spread of the disease. The fact is that the bacteria identified here have “very low air resistance,” according to health officials. Today, the disease is more difficult to prevent because the bacterial strains of meningococci responsible for meningitis are no longer the same as those circulating before the epidemic.
What prevention measures?
In this regard, the Hautes-de-France regional health agency began to trace people with whom the 19-year-old student had been in contact in recent days. A total of 13 people were identified: all were contacted by “health surveillance teams”. “Nearby students, who had been in contact with the student since January 30, were contacted by ARS services to avail of antibiotic treatment,” the Catholic university explained.
