Meningococcal infection detected in a kindergarten in Vilnius

“A case of this disease has been confirmed in kindergarten. A person was infected: an employee. The person was not working on the day of the illness. The institution was informed in writing and by telephone about the case and the necessary procedures The children’s parents were contacted and consulted by an NVSC specialist. Referrals to the family doctor for chemoprophylaxis were prescribed to all contact persons (both employees and children), “said NVSC representatives.

Representatives of the Vilnius city municipal administration assured that the situation in the Vilnius Gandriukas kindergarten is under control.

“An adult has been diagnosed with a meningococcal infection. The sick person is currently in treatment. The institution was consulted by specialists from the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS, and recommendations were provided. People who work at the educational institution and who have had close contact with the patient have been informed, chemoprophylaxis has been performed and people are currently being monitored. To guarantee prevention, the institution’s facilities are disinfected and ventilated. There have been no more cases of contagion in the institution ”, said the representatives of the municipality.

Meningococcus B is a particularly dangerous and very common disease in Lithuania. According to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control for 2018, Lithuania remains one of the European countries with the highest number of meningococcal infections. Last year, 37 people in Lithuania were infected with this infection, 6 of whom died.

According to the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS (ULAC), in the first quarter of this year there were 8 cases of meningococcal infection, five cases less than in the same period last year. Five children and three adults fell ill this year. No deaths have been reported.

This year, 4 cases were recorded in Vilnius County: 2 cases in Vilnius City, 2 – in Vilnius County. 2 children and 2 adults became ill.

How Delfi.tv Izabelė Juškienė, general practitioner at the Antakalnis Polyclinic, told the “Health Recipe” program that this bacterial disease spreads through the air in the form of droplets.

“It works like the most common runny nose, it can be a bit of a cough. As if it were a disease without complications. But, if the form of the disease is more aggressive, within a few hours the temperature begins to rise very intensely and is high , eruptions of hemorrhagic origin begin to appear, which frightens the parents very much, ”commented Dr. I. Juškienė.

The most dangerous disease is children under 6 years of age. However, the further away, the more noticeable it is that the infection also affects adults over 35 years of age.

According to the doctor, parents should be concerned if a child who starts sneezing and has a temperature refuses to eat, drink, is sluggish and lies down.

“The younger the child, the faster the disease progresses. But having a rash already means that the infection has entered the bloodstream and that it is the beginning of a systemic disease, it is very important. Often, parents fear that the rash and fever are already really meningococcal infection. But the rash is very specific: it is hemorrhagic in origin, like blood spilled under the skin and does not go away when pressed. It is a serious sign, “warned I. Juškienė.

Despite the fact that the disease begins quite simply, its consequences can be particularly sad.

“By having this infection, a child can be left without limbs, without hands, without legs, can develop scars, mental retardation, deafness. It is very important for parents to know that vaccines are the main way to prevent serious complications of the disease. She is 100 percent. It does not guarantee that the child will not get sick, but it will be prepared for a defensive reaction beforehand and the body will fight it better, ”suggested Dr. I. Juškienė.