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Misdiagnosis
Lily Teale, 10 months old was taken to the same-day health clinic for fever, vomiting and diarrhea. A doctor dismissed the baby’s symptoms as a stomach bug. But hours later, Lily was rushed to hospital after her lips turned blue and she became unresponsive. She was tragically pronounced dead at 10pm on the same day […]
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Defense Mechanism
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a mechanism through which meningitis-causing bacteria can evade the immune system. One of the signs of an infection is elevated temperatures or fever, which typically boost our immune system‘s ability to fight illness. In the study, researchers found that two meningitis bacteria – Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae […]
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Fighting for her life
A South Australian 21- year old woman became infected with meningococcal meningitis & is fighting for her life. The Adelaide woman is in intensive care unit & the serogroup has yet to be identified. SA Health reported 2 cases so far of invasive meningococcal disease this year. Watch for symptoms & get help immediately if […]
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World Meningitis Day
World Meningitis Day on April 24 and World Immunization Awareness Week, which starts on the same day and runs through April 30, remind parents about vaccines available to protect their loved ones from meningitis and other vaccine-preventable illnesses. Jamie Schanbaum, who survived bacterial meningitis in her sophomore year at The University of Texas at Austin, […]
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Champion Passes
Nick Springer, 35 years old, contracted Meningococcal Meningitis at age 14 died suddenly on April 14. Nick had both legs amputated above the knees and both arms to mid-forearm. He began playing sled hockey before he was fully finished with rehab, and at age 16, segued into Quadriplegic Wheelchair Rugby (“Murderball”) which brought him five international […]
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Important Truths
Learn more about meningitis by joining the Sunday Times Connect webinar with Sanofi on Wednesday, April 21. World Meningitis Day is April 24 & the theme this year is “Take Action”. Dr. Soofie, medical head at Sanofi Pasteur Vaccines said, “The pandemic has resulted in people missing their immunizations and the number of (IMD) invasive […]
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Meningitis Cases
A 29-year-old Adelaide man died from an invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) making the South Australian Health authorities issue an alert. The strain that affected the man was serotype W is one of the more predominant strains in Australia. About 5 to 10 percent of meningococcal disease cases are fatal. It can affect all age groups […]
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Courage Wins
Louise Duncan was only 17-year-old when she mentioned to a friend about her shoulder being sore and stiff. They attributed the symptoms from being a horse enthusiast’s riding lessons that day. Things spiraled downwards from a meningococcal meningitis diagnosis to induced coma, to having seizures & strokes. She recalls, “The doctors told Mum and Dad […]
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Horrible Consequences
Sophia Wyatt, 44, lost both her legs to meningitis when she was only 16 years old. Sophia posted on the internet her hospital photos of her fingers and toes blackened with sepsis and her legs turning dark purple before they were amputated in January 1993. Her post said, “I don’t like to be reminded of […]
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Vaccines Protect
A new published study by the University of Bristol in collaboration with researchers in Portugal, showed the effectiveness of 4CMenB vaccine for Meningococcal group B bacteria. This disease is the leading cause of infectious killer for babies & young children in the UK. The vaccine provided people with a 79% effective protection from the disease. […]
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