Tatarstan doctor explains how to protect children from meningococcal infection

Professor Vladimir Anokhin, head of the Department of Children's Infectious Diseases at Kazan Medical University, explained how to protect against meningococcal infection in Tatarstan. Speaking to Tatar-Inform, Anokhin said the bacterial disease spreads through airborne droplets and usually runs a moderately severe course. However, in some patients it can cause fatal meningitis or bacterial sepsis, with the outcome depending largely on individual immunity.

Anokhin said such cases are registered in Tatarstan every year and that the greatest danger of the severe form is its rapid progression. He said timely vaccination is the only reliable way to prevent the tragedy and described modern vaccines as ideal, noting they do not cause serious side reactions. The vaccine is not yet included in the national calendar but can be given at all relevant vaccination centres.

The article also reported that a 12-year-old girl died at the Gubin health camp in Bugulma after her condition worsened. She had gone to the medical post on 1 November with a headache and a temperature of 39.4 degrees, and was taken to hospital the next day. The cause of death was given as the fulminant form of meningococcal infection, Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome and meningococcemia. Doctors confirmed her death at 17:15 on 2 November. A total of 195 children had arrived at the camp on 29 October.