Italy reports two more deaths from bacterial meningitis

LUCCA, 29 December (ANSA) - Italy reported two more deaths from bacterial meningitis, including a 22-month-old baby, and one case of severe contamination.

The new episodes involving the disease linked the alert in the country and rekindled calls for the population to be vaccinated. Last Wednesday (28), the boy, born in February of 2015, had entered the Hospital Meyer, Florence, in a very serious condition and with a high fever.

The doctors still tried to treat him, but it was too late. The diagnosis confirmed C-type meningitis, a disease that has killed six people in Tuscany in 2016. The region has been carrying out a vaccination campaign that has already affected a large part of the population, but many families have not yet been warned.

The boy's parents and daycare colleagues were placed under follow-up due to the risk of transmission of the bacteria.

"At this time, not vaccinating children in Tuscany against meningitis is irresponsible," said Walter Ricciardi, president of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS). The body is connected to the National Health Service.

However, other regions have also reported cases, such as Campania, where an 18-year-old man died in this fifth victim of the disease. Like the Tuscan boy, he had been hospitalized in severe condition last Wednesday, but he could not resist. The young man resided in Agerola, on the outskirts of Naples.

In addition, a 34-year-old Peruvian woman was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the San Martino Hospital in Genoa, also with bacterial meningitis. Their conditions are critical. The disease is characterized by inflammation in the membranes lining the brain and may be caused by viruses or bacteria, the latter being more rare but more deadly. (ANSA)