{"id":1782,"date":"2024-03-29T15:13:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T15:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/cdc-alerts-doctors-to-watch-for-rare-serious-bacterial-infection-appearing-with-unusual-symptoms\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T15:13:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T15:13:35","slug":"cdc-alerts-doctors-to-watch-for-rare-serious-bacterial-infection-appearing-with-unusual-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/cdc-alerts-doctors-to-watch-for-rare-serious-bacterial-infection-appearing-with-unusual-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"CDC alerts doctors to watch for rare, serious bacterial infection appearing with unusual symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Health officials are alerting doctors to be on the lookout for certain types of rare, serious meningococcal infections that are on the rise in the United States. <\/p>\n

The\u00a0US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0said\u00a0in a new health alert that these infections, which are caused by a certain strain of\u00a0Neisseria meningitidis\u00a0bacteria,\u00a0may present with unusual symptoms. In the cases identified so far this year, about 1 in 6 people have died, a higher fatality rate than they typically see with meningococcal infections. <\/p>\n

These cases are also unusual because they are striking\u00a0middle-aged\u00a0adults.\u00a0Typically, meningitis infections strike babies or adolescents and young adults. <\/p>\n

The CDC\u2019s alert comes after the Virginia Department of Health warned about five deaths from the same rare, serious form of meningococcal disease in September. <\/p>\n

Meningococcal disease refers to any sickness caused by\u00a0Neisseria meningitidis.\u00a0The infection can lead to both meningitis and a serious infection of the bloodstream called septicemia, or blood poisoning. <\/p>\n

The bacteria can spread from person to person through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, and typically occurs via kissing, coughing, sneezing or living in close contact with others who are infected. <\/p>\n

There are four different groups of meningococcal bacteria known to circulate in the United States \u2014 B, C, W and Y.\u00a0The CDC says that in 2023, there were 422 cases of disease caused by these bacteria reported in the United States, the highest number reported since 2014. Most of them\u00a0were\u00a0caused by a particular strain, ST-1466, which is in the Y subgroup. <\/p>\n

So far, 2024 is on track to top that number. To date, 143 cases have been reported in the United States \u2014 almost 80% more than had been reported at the same point in 2023. <\/p>\n

The CDC says most people being diagnosed with this particular are adults ages 30 to\u00a060. A disproportionate number of cases, 63%, are among Black people and 15% are in people who have HIV. <\/p>\n

Typical symptoms of meningitis infections include fever, headache, a stiff neck, an aversion to light and nausea. Many of the recently reported cases don\u2019t have these symptoms.\u00a0About two-thirds of patients have bloodstream infections, about 4% have had painful, infected joints. <\/p>\n

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