Child with meningitis hospitalised in Trento

A female child from the Val di Non who was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis was admitted in isolation to the Santa Chiara hospital in Trento. A note from the Hygiene Service of the Prevention Department indicates that pharmacological prophylaxis measures, including antibiotic administration, have been activated for all those in close contact with the infected individual. The implementation of immunisation programmes during the initial months of life has resulted in an appreciable reduction in the incidence of haemophilus and pneumococcal meningitis in children within the Trento province. In recent years, there have been only one or two cases of invasive disease per year, and these have occurred as isolated, unrelated cases. No epidemic cases have been recorded for a considerable time.