RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond-Henrico Health District (RHHD) is recognizing World Meningitis Day, which raises awareness about the disease that can cause death or lifelong disability.
Okey Utah serves as RHHD’s epidemiologist and warned that the illness can lead to infections in the brain, spinal cord and bloodstream. Those symptoms may prove fatal.
The bacteria that cause the disease is typically spread by close intimate contact.
A recent study found seven out of 10 of 17-year-olds in the United States did not receive even one dose of meningitis B vaccination in 2020.
Utah said teens and young adults are at higher risk for contracting the virus.
“They congregate together, and they share a lot including sexual habits, kissing, cuddling. All those are risk factors,” Utah explained. “It's important to get vaccines because if you can get vaccinated, for instance, against mumps, which can cause meningitis — against measles, which can cause meningitis. Then you decrease the probability of getting meningitis.”
Babies are also at risk, Utah said.
“The clinician will tell the child to try and bend down and look at their belly button. If that child has meningitis, they won’t be able to move their head down because the neck is stiff,” he stated.
Symptoms for adults include sudden onset of fever, headache or stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, eyes being more sensitive to light, and confusion.
Symptoms in infants from the CDC include slow or inactive, more irritable, vomiting, poorly eating, have abnormal reflexes, or bulging fontanelle.
Utah warned that meningitis is not an infection that you can ignore. You want to consult your physician immediately if you see symptoms in your child.
