Health officials take action after Montreal teen dies of meningococcal infection
Montreal’s public health agency has administered antibiotics to over 100 people who were in close contact with a young woman who died of a meningococcal infection last Saturday.
The Bexsero vaccine, which protects against this strain, will be also given to those who were close to the victim.
The agency says lab tests have confirmed the 18-year-old junior college student died of a meningococcal B infection.
Close contact is defined as living under the same roof, direct contact with an infected person’s respiratory secretions or sexual contact.
The Quebec Health Department indicates there are several types of meningococcus bacteria, which can be found in a person’s airways. The bacteria can cause serious diseases such as meningitis and sepsis.
Infection often occurs at the end of winter and early spring, and symptoms can include fever, headache, nausea and tiny red marks on the skin.
