Because of the heightened media interest in meningitis as a result of the cluster of cases in Alameda County, we at the San Mateo County Health Services Agency are publicly reporting the meningitis death of a 22-year-old Pacifica man on April 12 at Kaiser Hospital in South San Francisco. We do not typically report such cases to the media in this format.
San Mateo County routinely experiences an average of seven to 11 cases of meningococcal disease a year and approximately two meningitis deaths a year.
These usually occur in the winter and spring. We have not seen anything unusual regarding meningococcal disease in our county this year. In California, there are around 300 to 400 cases of meningococcal disease reported each year. A small number of these result in death.
The death of the Pacifica man is coincidental and totally unrelated to the cases in Alameda County. This case involves the B type of meningococcal bacteria; the Alameda cases involve the C type. There is no possibility that the victims came in contact with each other. While this death is unfortunate, it is not what we would consider to be unusual or a cause for public alarm.
When meningitis is confirmed, the San Mateo County Health Department, like all other health departments, has a very strict protocol which it follows.
People who are at increased risk of transmission, usually only those who are very close contacts, are identified and offered a short course of antibiotics if appropriate.
The San Mateo County and the San Francisco County health departments are following up directly with those who may have been exposed. People who were close contacts to this individual, either have been or will be contacted shortly. San Mateo County continues to be in close communication with the health departments of San Francisco and Alameda counties and will continue to monitor the situation.<
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.