A public health alert has been issued for the Illawarra after an “unusually high” number of hospitalisations due to viral meningitis in the past month.
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Twelve people have so far been hospitalised with severe symptoms of the viral infection, with investigations continuing into any possible link between the cases.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District public health director Curtis Gregory said the first person became unwell in late March and the others in early April.
“We’ve had 12 cases of viral meningitis that have been hospitalised since late March which is very unusual for this type of infection,” he said. “There’s actually two things that are unusual about the cluster of cases that we’re seeing.
“The first is that we normally don’t see that many cases being hospitalised in that amount of time, as viral meningitis is quite common and usually the symptoms are mild.
“Secondly, we’d normally see it in children, particularly those under five years old. However, while there’s been one infant and a few cases in their late teens, the majority of cases have been in adults which is very unusual.”
Mr Gregory said viral meningitis was the most common type of meningitis, which was an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.
He said it was usually much less severe than bacterial meningitis, and most people got better without treatment within seven to 10 days.
“The 12 people who were hospitalised reported severe headaches and quite bad photophobia, which is sensitivity to bright light,” Mr Gregory said. “They also had neck and muscle aches, fever and nausea.
“However once in hospital the diagnoses occurred quickly, they were treated appropriately and all discharged within one to three days after a full recovery.”
There had been no indications of common links between the cases other than two patients who were from the same family.
“We’ve done our initial investigations and created an epidemiological profile but haven’t identified any links or commonalities between the cases.
“However further laboratory testing is also being carried out to identify which type of enterovirus has caused these illnesses.”
Mr Gregory said it was important anyone experiencing similiar symptoms visit their GP.
While it was rare for viral meningitis to cause serious illness, he said complications could include ongoing chronic illness and encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain.
He added that enteroviruses were spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, saliva, faeces or contact with contaminated items or water.
“So the best prevention is through good hygiene and thorough handwashing,” he said.
Unlike bacterial meningitis which can be treated with antibiotics, there’s no specific treatment for viral meningitis.
“It’s a matter of making sure patients are correctly identified to stop the spread, and making sure they have plenty of rest and fluid and medication to treat the symptoms,” Mr Gregory said.