Teen from Lower Sackville hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis

HALIFAX – A high school student from Lower Sackville has been hospitalized with a case of meningococcal meningitis.

The student, who Global News has learned is a boy in Grade 10 at Sackville High, had contact with up to 100 other teens in the area at a party last weekend. He was taken to hospital earlier this week after developing symptoms.

Capital Health confirmed the case of meningococcal meningitis on Thursday.

Dr. Robin Taylor, medical officer of health for Capital Health, said the health authority is reaching out to people who could have been in contact with the boy.

“I want people to be confident that we have a process for this and we are investigating and contacting people who may have been exposed,” she said.

People potentially at risk have been advised to take a preventative course of antibiotics.

Taylor said the bacteria is spread between people through nasal and oral secretions — “spit and snot,” she said — and Capital Health is searching for every person who could be sick in order to “break the chain” and stop it from spreading further.

She could not confirm how many people are at risk for infection, but said there had only been one reported case so far.

On Thursday, Capital Health sent a letter to parents of Sackville High students alerting them to the diagnosis. It describes the risk to students of contracting the disease as “low” and says the health authority is not recommending students “receive any medication or vaccine.”

Read the letter sent to parents of Sackville High students:

Taylor said the type of meningitis that hospitalized the student cannot be spread the same way as the flu.

“You can’t get it from touching a doorknob and then wiping your face. You can’t get it sitting on a bus with somebody who’s sick,” she said. “You actually need direct contact with the nose and mouth fluids of a sick person.” She listed examples including kissing, sharing food or drink and sharing a cigarette.

Robert MacDonald, whose son Josh was at the party, said they got a call on Wednesday asking for the names of other people at the party and advising them to go to a family health-care clinic in Sackville.

Josh MacDonald said the news that someone he knew was sick with meningitis scared him.

What is meningitis?

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord, and is typically caused by infection. The most at-risk groups include young people and adults with long-term health problems.

Meningitis can be viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic in nature. The viral type does not usually lead to serious health concerns, but the bacterial type is considered very dangerous.

Invasive meningococcal disease, caused by a bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis, can lead to meningitis, with symptoms presenting between two to 10 days after exposure, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The most common symptoms of meningitis in teens and young adults are:

• A stiff and painful neck, especially when you try to touch your chin to your chest
• Fever
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Trouble staying awake
• Seizures

Health officials say it is very important to see a doctor as soon as possible if you or someone in your home has any of these symptoms.

In Canada, people can be immunized against five strains of meningococcal disease known to cause deadly forms of meningitis. In Nova Scotia, children are vaccinated at 12 months old and again in Grade 7.

For more information, Capital Health offers fact sheets on meningococcal disease and viral meningitis.

With Global News files