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HAMISH MCNEILLY / STUFF
Studholme Hall in Dunedin,
A student diagnosed with meningococcal disease recovers at the hospital while staff and students from a residence at the University of Otago get are seen to offer antibiotics.
This is the third case of this kind. Studholme College students have been diagnosed with meningococcal disease until this school year.
These other cases were in March and May. Both patients recovered.
SUPPLIED
A rash may indicate meningococcal disease. (photo from archive)
"It is rare for two or more people to suffer from meningococcal disease in a college," said Medical Officer of Health South District Health Commission Keith Reid
case of meningococcal disease in Otago Uni
* "Increased risk" of meningococcal disease after cases at Otago Uni Hall
"If a single student contracted meningococcal disease, the risk for everyone is not different from the usual.
"In this circumstance though, where two students have developed the same strain of meningococcal disease and a third is possible, the risk for others is increased ",
It was unclear whether this week's case was the same strain as the previous cases in
The student was doing well at Dunedin Hospital and there had been nothing to link this case to another student treated for meningococcal disease the week last.
A University Spokesperson Says That The Health Tip Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening bacterial infection that causes two serious diseases: meningitis (an infection of the membranes that cover the brain) and sepsis (blood poisoning).
Meningococcal bacteria live in the nose and throat of about one in ten people at one time, but rarely cause disease, he says
.
Antibiotics help stop the spread of the disease by helping to eliminate meningococcal bacteria.
Symptoms may appear suddenly and include high fever, headache, drowsiness, joint and muscle pain, and rash.
Between 2007 and 2014, there were between 43 and 132 cases of meningococcal disease and between 3 and 13 deaths each year in New Zealand, with a general downward trend. The disease is more common in winter and spring.
– Tips and Tricks
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