Meningitis Scare in Belluno: Young Woman Hospitalized with Diagnosis
BELLUNO – An eighteen-year-old resident in the Belluno area was rushed to the Feltre emergency room this morning with symptoms of meningitis. The young woman, a student in Primiero, had also visited a nightclub in Tonadico ten days ago, prompting health officials to issue a warning to those who attended the club on the evening of Saturday, March 16th, to undergo preventive prophylaxis.
The Belluno local socio-health unit (Ulss 1 Dolomiti) confirmed the diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis after initial laboratory investigations. Due to the severity of the clinical picture, the young woman was hospitalized in the infectious diseases department of the Belluno hospital and later transferred to the intensive care unit as a precaution.
The Prevention Department of the APSS of Trento will be handling prophylactic activities for close contacts residing in Trentino or connected to school attendance in Primiero, where the young woman attends school. The guidelines recommend administering a dose of antibiotic to close contacts in the seven days before the onset of symptoms.
Prophylactic measures have already been activated for the girl’s relatives and classmates, as well as for those who were at the nightclub in Tonadico on the night of March 16th. The APSS is urging anyone who was at the nightclub on that evening to seek information and possibly start prophylaxis at public hygiene clinics in Tonadico and Borgo Valsugana.
Pharmacological prophylaxis, in the form of antibiotics, is being provided to those who had close contact with the patient in the seven days before the onset of symptoms. The clinics are open from 1.30pm to 3pm and can also be contacted via email or telephone for further assistance.