When a child suffers from meningitis, and depending on the virus or bacteria that caused the disease, the protocol of meningitis prevention in its closest environment. This is what happened today in Castilla y León following the death of a 16-month-old girl yesterday meningococcal meningitis type B.
Recall that meningitis is a disease that involves the involvement of the meninges, which are like layers of protection of the central nervous system, by an infection that can be viral or bacterial. It produces a clinic consisting of sudden onset of high fever, headache, stiffness and / or neck pain, vomiting ...
Depending on the microorganism that produces it is more or less important, and it will act in one way or another, but it is a disease that is essential to rule out.
When it is caused by a bacterium called Meningococcus type B, as in the case of Castilla y León, apart from the urgent intervention on the child, it is also very important to act on people who have had close contact with the child. They should be given medication to prevent the development of the infection in the first 24 hours at:
- family members who live with the child or who have slept with him in the last ten days
- to friends or people who have continued treatment
- to doctors and nurses who have had contact with him before he receives treatment
In the event that 2 or more cases appear in the same class in children under 2 years of age, it is given to the entire school.
To prevent contagion, the measures are to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, keep vaccinations up to date and prevent children from sharing toys or things that are put in their mouths.
