Young girl and man fighting for life with deadly strain of meningococcal

Two patients are in a critical condition in hospital, just two days after a nine-year-old boy was rushed to hospital battling the contagious disease. 

SA Health has issued an alert with two people in a critical condition with the B strain of meningococcal disease. Source: Supplied.

A teenage girl and a man are fighting for life in hospital after contracting meningococcal B.

The two, unrelated, South Australians are both in a critical condition in hospital.

SA Health issued an alert on Wednesday evening as the 13-year-old girl and 36-year-old man, both from Adelaide, were being treated in hospital with the B strain of meningococcal disease.

SA Health has identified multiple people who had contact with the patients with a total of 16 directed to take clearance antibiotics.

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Boy treated in hospital with B strain

The new patients come just two days after a nine-year-old Adelaide boy was admitted to hospital in a stable condition on Monday.

There have been 15 cases of invasive meningococcal diseases reported in South Australia so far this year, compared to seven at the same time in 2022.

What is meningococcal?

Meningococcal disease is a rare but potentially devastating bacterial infection of the blood and/or membranes that line the spinal cord and brain.

Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, commonly called “meningococcus”. There are 13 different strains, with the most common disease-causing strains being A, B, C, W, X and Y (globally). Currently in Australia, strains B, W and Y cause the majority of cases.

The contagious disease can progress rapidly and be hard to diagnose. It begins with symptoms such as fever and irritability that can be easily mistaken for the common cold.

Most children survive meningococcal disease but up to one in ten of those infected may die and about one in five may suffer serious long-term disabilities including brain damage, deafness or loss of limbs. 

Whilst rare, meningococcal disease can strike at any age but it mainly affects our kids, with peaks in the under fives (particularly those under one year of age), and teenagers (15-19 year olds).

Meningococcal disease most commonly manifests as:

• Meningitis (swelling of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord).
• Septicaemia (or “sepsis” - an overwhelming blood infection which leads to the characteristic rash)
• Or both

Originally published as Young girl and man fighting for life with deadly strain of meningococcal