N.O.R.F Posted November 2, 2007 Mystery shrouds source of girl's meningitis infection By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter Last updated: November 02, 2007, 03:23 Dubai: The source of the meningitis infection, which killed a 12-year-old girl in Sharjah, remains unknown, even as the Health Ministry declared the case closed four days before the observation period ends. The British-born girl of Somali origin died Monday morning from Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) meningitis, prompting mass medication of her classmates, friends and family. The infection kills an estimated 386,000 people per year, mostly children under the age of five, according to the World Health Organisation. Case closed A senior official at the preventive department at the ministry told Gulf News that they considered the issue closed, although they have not been able to trace the source of infection. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The case is closed. We give our assurance that this was an isolated case. There is no potential for any outbreak," he said. Nevertheless, he said the ministry would continue monitoring the girl's contacts to detect any secondary infections until after the weekend. The incubation period for the Hib bacterium is about a week. The official added it was difficult to trace the source of infection as it was commonly found in healthy unvaccinated people. "The bacterium is harboured in the throat or nose and sometimes, under certain conditions, it can be invasive, like when the immune system is compromised," he said. "She just got sick for a couple of days, was admitted to the hospital and died the next day," he added. The girl has no recent history of travel or serious illnesses prior to her death. He also said the headmaster of the private school where the girl took sick was pleased with the ministry's response. Meanwhile, the private school the girl went to is returning to normal, reports a student. "Najeeb", a 14-year-old Syrian student at the school, told Gulf News that students have started returning to class after staying away the days after Monday's alert. "Everything is normal, although a few kids are still missing from class. [Tuesday and Wednesday], four or five from my class were missing. Now they're back, except for one," he said. He said he was initially worried about his safety when he saw many of his classmates staying away from school. He said he kept calling his mother to ask her if he had been vaccinated. His mother assured him he had. Now, he said he felt sad over the girl's death. "I don't really know how I felt. I guess I'm sad that someone died and she was so young," he said. gulfnews.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Som@li Posted November 2, 2007 is there vaccinating for this thing? So many pple coming to UAE every year,it is high risk. Did you know her family? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted November 2, 2007 I dont saxib. Very sad. Kids get immunisation against menengitis but thats not 100% guaranteed protection. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
