Fourteen cases have been detected worldwide, including five in France.
Caution. A “potentially fatal” disease was spotted on British soil but also in France, the Travel Heath Pro website alerted on June 21. Fourteen cases have been detected worldwide, British health authorities said.
Several people have contracted invasive meningitis after staying in Saudi Arabia, health authorities in the United Kingdom reported, launching a national alert. Potentially fatal, “one in ten people succumb to it”alerted the British health authorities.
Cases detected in France
Worldwide, 14 cases were recorded, For now. Five in the United States, four in France and three in the United Kingdom, Norway and the Netherlands. The virus was detected on travelers returning from the Umrah pilgrimage, in the United Arab Emirates.
Fever, headache, stiff neck, altered mental state, increased sensitivity to light and digestive disorders… This disease causes meningitis as well as sepsis which can be fatal : this acute and serious bacterial infection can kill up to one in ten people. “The mortality rate can reach 40%.”, in the most extreme cases, have warned the English health authorities. In addition to being fatal, the disease can leave serious neurological and hearing aftereffectsin addition to leading to amputations “in 20% of cases”indicated the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
If for the moment, the authorities estimate that the 1,300 people who died during the Hajj pilgrimage are due to strong heat waves, the authorities emphasize that they could also be caused by bacterial infection.
In order to stop the spread of the disease, the Saudi Ministry of Health has issued some recommendations:
– Wear a mask in busy areas
– Avoid coughing animals
– Do not handle food after coughing, sneezing or using the toilet
– Use disposable tissues and throw them away after use
– Avoid contact with sick people
– Avoid camels, farms, markets and barns
– Avoid, as far as possible, the consumption of unpasteurized milk, raw meat or “not well cooked” animal products.
– Protect yourself from insect bites, potential vectors of disease transmission.
Also, Saudi health authorities now prohibit travelers arriving for Hajj from bringing food, on the sole condition that it is properly canned or sealed.
