A toddler is lucky to be alive after being misdiagnosed. 

The initial diagnosis occurred on the child’s first hospital visit. That mistaken diagnosis was compounded the next day when the child was again examined at the hospital emergency room.  Two days later during a scheduled appointment it was finally determined that the child had meningococcal meningitis.  Because meningitis often mimics more mild viral illnesses such as colds and flu it can sometimes be hard to diagnose.  Fortunately this toddler survived.  Untreated meningitis can be life threatening.  Only the mother’s persistence saved her child from serious further health risk.  This incident only demonstrates how difficult it can be to diagnose meningitis even for health care professionals.  Once again it illustrates that the best defense against meningitis is vaccination.

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