Seven-week-old baby girl dies in Women’s and Children’s Hospital after contracting meningococcal
A baby girl has died in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital after contracting invasive meningococcal disease.
SA News
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A seven-week-old baby girl has died in hospital after contracting invasive meningococcal disease.
The girl, from metropolitan Adelaide, died in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in recent days. Doctors on Saturday evening received results that the girl had died from the rare disease, but it is not publicly known exactly when she passed away.
SA Health revealed the case on Sunday morning in a statement that said the strain was not yet identified.
Staff contacted multiple people who had contact with the baby and seven people were directed to receive clearance antibiotics.
Meningococcal health information was distributed to all contacts in accordance with national guidelines.
This is just the fifth case of invasive meningococcal disease reported in South Australia this year, compared with 25 cases at the same time in 2019.
Of the five cases, two were serogroup B, two serogroup Y, but the latest one is awaiting classification.
A total of 27 cases were reported in 2019, 19 of which were serogroup B and the remaining eight were an even mix of serogroup W and serogroup Y.