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The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases has confirmed a female living in Hanoi has tested positive for meningitis – a serious viral brain infection.
The 18-year-old patient was taken to hospital last Sunday after she fell unconscious following a high fever and nausea that lasted for three or four days, said the family.
Despite suffering headaches, the patient has regained consciousness and is showing signs of a recovery following treatment at the hospital, said Nguyen Trung Cap, deputy head of the hospital’s emergency room.
The patient is a student at a Japanese language school in Cau Giay District, which has since been disinfected and sterilized to prevent a possible outbreak.
Two of the patient's classmates who are suffering from a high fever have been quarantined for further testing, said health officials.
Family members and some students at the language school who came into close contact with the patient have been given preventive antibiotics.
Nguyen Nhat Cam, head of the Preventive Medicine Center, said symptoms of the rapidly advancing illness can include a stiff neck, a dark red rash, high fever, vomiting, feeling disoriented and intense headaches.
He said that meningococcal meningitis is spread person-to-person, most commonly through the air.
Hanoi has recorded two cases of the brain infection so far this year. The first patient was a 30-year-old male who recovered after being treated in hospital in March.
Tran Dac Phu, head of the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health, said meningitis can spread widely and reaches its peak during winter and spring.
He urged people, especially children, to get vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis at local health facilities.
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