Tatarstan: Onishchenko says girl who died of meningococcal infection needed hospital at once

Epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and vice-president of the Russian Academy of Education, said that a girl who died of meningococcal infection should have been taken to hospital immediately instead of being returned to her parents. The statement was reported by TASS.

Onishchenko also said that in such situations specialists should be involved to correctly assess the child's condition and provide medical care. He added that there were suspicions the girl had contracted an infectious disease.

The case occurred at a camp in Bugulma, Tatarstan. On 1 November, the 12-year-old girl applied to the camp's medical point and was hospitalised the next day. On 2 November at 17:15 her heart stopped. The initial diagnosis was a fulminant form of meningococcal infection, Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome and meningococcemia. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case. Tatarstan's Minister of Youth Affairs, Azat Kadyrov, said he is personally monitoring the situation.