Swedish health authorities have confirmed one case of meningitis and two possible cases in a group of young people returning from a recent scout jamboree in Japan.
The Swedish case comes after three scouts from northern Scotland, who attended the same jamboree, needed treatment for meningitis last week. Scottish health officials wrote to about 4,000 British scouts who took part to warn them to be on the lookout for symptoms, while playing down the risks.
“We have one confirmed case of meningitis. It’s a young girl who is being treated here,” a spokeswoman for Stockholm’s Karolinska hospital, Mirjam Kontio, told AFP.
Two other probable cases are currently being examined, Swedish Public Health Agency spokesman Christer Janson said.
The precautionary letter from Health Protection Scotland to Britons said that while the risk of another case was very slight, it was sensible to be aware of the signs and symptoms, which include vomiting, severe headache, stiff neck and seizures.
The HPS letter, dated 14 August, said the three Scottish scouts were recovering well after being treated with antibiotics.
Jim McMenamin, a consultant epidemiologist, wrote: “I appreciate this news may cause some anxiety but please be reassured that thus far no other cases have been reported from scouts from other parts of the UK or from other international countries attending the jamboree. The occurrence of this illness is rare and the risk of another case amongst those attending the jamboree is very small.”
An estimated 30,000 scouts from around the world attended the 12-day event that ended on 8 August in Kirarahama in western Japan, including 4,000 from Britain. The jamboree included a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as part of the 70th anniversary of a nuclear bomb being dropped on the city.
In his letter, McMenamin said not all of signs and symptoms of meningitis may show at once, but someone with the illness may become very ill. The illness may progress over one or two days, but can develop very rapidly, sometimes in a matter of hours.
Meningitis, an infection of the meninges (protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord), can be caused by bacteria or a virus. It leads to the meninges becoming swollen, which can damage the nerves and brain. The early signs can be like bad flu, but diagnosis in the early stages can be difficult.
McMenamin said laboratory and other information indicated that the risk of infection appeared confined to the small group of scouts in the north of Scotland who attended the jamboree and those in households of the three confirmed cases.
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