Meningitis Outbreak Spurs Vaccination Plea in OC

SAN CLEMENTE, CA -- An outbreak of the meningococcal disease in Tijuana has prompted Orange County public health officials to warn parents to get their children vaccinated against the potentially deadly disease.

The Orange County Health Care Agency prepared a note on the outbreak that was sent to parents and guardians last Friday by the Orange County Department of Education.

The note was prompted by an outbreak of meningococcal infections in Tijuana beginning in January. No one in Orange County has gotten infected with the Tijuana strain, but two others have come down with different strains of the bacterial infection.

About 25 cases of the Tijuana strain have been detected since the beginning of the year, said Deanne Thompson of the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The two most common types of the infection result in meningitis, an infection of the spinal cord and brain, and meningococcemia, an infection of the bloodstream.

Also raising awareness of the bacterial infection is the case of 18-year- old Kaitlyn Dobrow of Huntington Beach, who has lost her arms and legs and was undergoing another surgery today.

In some rare cases people can carry the meningococcal bacteria without exhibiting symptoms, said Dr. Matt Zahn, the Health Care Agency's medical director of epidemiology. But it can be passed from person to person through sharing of saliva, such as through a kiss, or using someone else's straw, he added.

Symptoms can initially seem like the flu, and it's important to seek medical attention quickly since the infection can escale rapidly, Zahn said.

"Over a period of hours you can go from no symptoms to being seriously ill," Zahn said.

One in 10 die from the infection, and it's not uncommon to lose all of one's limbs, Zahn said. Ten to 20 percent of survivors suffer some type of longterm impairment.

Blood pressure drops rapidly as the body battles the infection, leading to septic problems and poor circulation to the limbs as the body funnels most of the blood to the central organs such as the heart, brain and lungs, Zahn said.

The county sees on average about four to nine cases of it annually, but it's almost entirely preventable with vaccinations, Zahn said.

Some parents just get too busy to get their children inoculated, Zahn said.

"The reality is that we all lead busy lives and getting our kids vaccinated can be a difficult thing to do," Zahn said. "And meningococcal disease is not something you see very day."

The recent illnesses, such as Dobrow's, are "reminders why these vaccines are important," Zahn said.

To parents who worry that vaccines can cause autism, Zahn assured them that theory has been debunked by scientists.

"It has been specifically, thoroughly and overwhelmingly disproved by the scientific literature," Zahn said. "Any time you receive a vaccine, any time you receive a medication, to say no one will have a side effect or reaction with 100 percent certainty does not exist. But, at the same time, significant diseases are preventable... The risks of getting any vaccine are much smaller than (contracting) the illnesses out there."

 - City News Service