Invasive Meningococcal Disease: Why Families Should Be Wary Of It
Often presenting first as a common cold and cough, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) affects more kids than we realize
Although we rarely hear people get sick with meningococal disease, it’s actually quite common. We just recognize it more as meningcocoxemia or meningitis, with the Philippines being home to one of the serogroups known as serogroup B. The disease, while it shows more often as a cold or cough, can quickly turn into a life-threatening disease in 24 hours with a sudden fever and rash.
“As a pedia, the story we’ve heard from parents in the emergency room is heartbreaking,” current chief of UP-PGH Dicision of Infectious and Tropical Disease of University of the Philippines Dr. Anna Ong-Lim shares. “Parents would share that their kids were okay and then all of the sudden, they become weak. Then, they suddenly have a fever and start vomitting before developing the rash.”
“These rashes are not your usual,” President of Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific Dr. Lulu Bravo shares one of her cases wherein a 2-year-old was admitted for the disease and had one of their fingers amputated. “They can multiply in an hour to the point limbs may end up being cut off due to the infection!”
Kids get the heaviest burden of IMD
Unfortunately, what makes invasive meningcocal disease so deadly is how fast it destroys kids’ bodies. As a brain infection, it causes lifelong health challenges should they survive. Fifty percent of the cases usually end up in death, laments Dr. Ong-Lim. “To survive the disease, some kids even need their limbs amputated. Imagine a child going through that!”
But can parents address it in their kids early? While the laboratory takes time to fully confirm the infection, there are already ways to manage the symptoms through prescribed antibiotic and early antimicrobial therapy. But as both Drs. Ong-Lim and Bravo agree, “Prevention is way better than intervention.”
Luckily, a vaccine exists to help kids and even teens fight off meningitis. “Considering how teens often engage in risky behaviors especially when they start staying in dormitories and go to college, they often leave themselves open to meningitis,” reveals Dr. Ong-Lim. “These vaccines are highly accessible now here in the Philippines.”
“As pedias, we always insist on getting the vaccines especially for deadly diseases like meningcoccal disease,” adds Dr. Bravo. “Don’t wait for the kids to get it! It’s not worth it.”
Usually, pedias schedule vaccines on a 2 + 1 schedule wherein two doses on the first 2-3 months and another shot at 4 months.
How parents can fight Invasive Meningococcal Disease
While diseases share symptoms or features, the best way to tackle it, according to Dr. Bravo, is to assume the worst possible scenario. “A rash — which we commonly associate with dengue — is also a symptom of meningcoccal disease,” she adds. “Sometimes, we even find ourselves carrying the disease without knowing. We survive but carry the disease, only to find out when someone immunocompromised like smaller children get it.”
The worst part is that the Philippines has become home to one of the categories (or serogroups) of Meningococal Disease: Serogroup B. “It’s currently the most common cause of IMD across ALL ages,” Dr. Bravo emphasizes. “Because of its unique nature and structure, there is a specific vaccine for it. We often advise parents to get the vaccine for Serogroup B for their babies as early as 2-3 months of age.”
But let’s not wait until we get the disease. Early diagnosis and vaccinations will drop the numbers and ensure parents a negligible possibility of losing their children to invasive meningococcal disease. Remember, vaccinations are not just for us but for the common good — especially those whose bodies can’t fight it off.
More on diseases?
Important Details About Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
