Teen recovering from meningitis

The male teen’s health is on the mend in a Winnipeg hospital after being diagnosed with meningitis in Rainy River last week.
“He’s doing much better,” Dr. Ewan Affleck said from the Rainy River Clinic yesterday. “He’s out of ICU and up and walking around.”
Dr. Affleck didn’t know when the teen would be returning home, noting only that the recovery process depended on the type and severity of the meningitis.
This case, he added, had been severe.
The teen was evaluated at Rainy River hospital a week ago yesterday, then transferred to Winnipeg.
“It appears to be an isolated case,” noted Ken Allan, team leader for communicable disease control with the Northwestern Health Unit, stressing no other incidents have been reported here.
But many people did call the health unit for information after hearing a case of meningitis had been reported. That seems to have calmed down this week, he added.
“We’re past the incubation period,” he noted Monday, adding that ranged from two to 10 days, with an average of four.
While the “group C” strain is associated with clusters, Allan stressed it was not unusual to have one or two cases within a population of 100,000.
In fact, about 10 percent of the population walks around with the bacteria and not have it affect them at all.
But as a precaution, Allan said the health unit followed up with those people who had direct contact with the patient–especially family members–to make sure they hadn’t contracted the disease.
“They would be the ones most at risk. But not like an aunt who comes over for a visit,” he said, noting it would be those who had day-to-day contact with the teen.
People are exposed to the bacteria by direct contact with saliva or nasal secretions. Casual contacts (classmates or co-workers) are not at an increased risk.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the covering of the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or toxins. The bacteria can be found in the nose and throat of healthy people.
Most people who contract the bacteria do not become sick, with the majority of adults having developed an immunity to it.
“Except for certain strains, it’s more common in younger individuals,” Allan said, noting it usually was found in children four years old and younger.
There were two cases of meningitis reported in the Kenora-Rainy River Districts in 1997, and two others in 1996.