Crown Heights Hatzalah issued an urgent alert Friday after a young man was taken to the hospital with meningococcal meningitis, an infection that Hatzalah said can become extremely serious for those who contract it.
Hatzalah said the infection is spread through droplets of saliva and can be contagious to people who have had close, prolonged contact with an infected person. Hatzalah stressed that treatment should begin immediately and urged anyone experiencing a fever or headache, with or without a rash, while feeling “unusually ill”, to seek immediate medical attention.
New York City health officials say meningococcal disease usually requires close or prolonged contact to spread. Close contacts may include people living in the same household, intimate contacts or those who have kissed or shared drinks, cooking utensils or other objects exposed to the infected person’s saliva. Casual contact in a classroom, office, synagogue, or similar environment is generally not considered exposure.
Health officials say people who have been in close contact with someone with meningococcal disease may need preventative antibiotics, which should be given as soon as possible, even if they have already been vaccinated.
Symptoms can appear between two and ten days after exposure, most often within about five days, and can progress rapidly. Health officials list possible symptoms as fever, headache, neck stiffness, vomiting, confusion, severe muscle pain, cold hands and feet, unusual weakness and rash.
Hatzalah said she was fully informed of the situation and could direct those who need help to appropriate medical care.
Gn Health
