Four cases ‘not an outbreak’
Despite having more cases of meningococcal this year, including a death, than in the previous five years Taranaki is not facing an outbreak, the region’s medical officer of health says.
In March a teenager, who attended New Plymouth Boys’ High School, died just days after it was discovered he had the disease.
Since then the Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) has treated another three patients, an 11-year-old boy from the Stratford area along with a five-year-old girl from New Plymouth and her two-year-old sister last week.
TDHB medical officer of health Jonathan Jarman said further deaths couldn’t be ruled out.
‘‘Meningococcal disease is a serious illness and unfortunately people can die.
‘‘Some deaths are not preventable because the illness moves so fast. However, we have a saying with meningococcal disease – early intervention saves lives.’’
The four confirmed cases is the highest number the TDHB has had since six were detected in 2012. The region’s worst year was in 1997 when it had 13 cases.
Jarman said the increase of cases didn’t suggest a localised outbreak.
‘‘Three out of the four cases had serogroup B disease, which is almost always a sporadic disease,’’ Jarman said.
‘‘Sometimes there can be secondary cases in family contacts but serogroup B does not appear as likely to cause localised outbreaks as some of the other strains.’’
Jarman said serogroup B was the most common strain in New Zealand and was the cause of the nationwide epidemic in the 1990s and early 2000s, when more than
600 people a year were contracting the disease.
While a special vaccination programme ran between 2004 and
2008 it stopped when the numbers declined.
Being aware of the symptoms and seeking immediate medical advice was the best way people could safeguard themselves and their families from meningococcal disease, Jarman said.
‘‘It is usually impossible to tell the difference between early meningococcal disease and the flu. This is why it is important to keep a close eye on sick children and go back to the doctor if the illness worsens or you are worried.’’
The signs and symptoms could include high temperatures, sick babies who are sleepy, floppy or harder to wake, headache, confusion and sleepiness, joint pain, aching muscles and/or neck stiffness, dislike of bright lights, nausea or vomiting and a red or purple skin rash.
Jarman recommended anyone with concerns call Healthline on
0800 611 611.