Health Ministry has declared that although a case of meningococcal disease was found in Maldives two days ago, there is no cause to begin mass vaccinations as the disease has not been identified to have spread.
Ministry of Health has stated today that there is no cause to begin mass vaccinations for Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) despite the recent appearance of a case in the country.
Although authorities have not confirmed the patient, local reports suggest that the football legend, Mohamed Arif (Baka) had tested positive for the meningococcal disease. He passed away on Tuesday evening while receiving treatments for what reports describe as critically high fever and flu like symptoms.
Health Protecting Agency (HPA) had taken swift action to counter the spread of the disease following its appearance. The agency had collected information, conducted contact tracing and informed those who came into contact with patient zero on the disease. Preventative prophylactic medicine was also administered to close contacts according to earlier statements of HPA.
Health Ministry stated that the disease has not been identified to have spread and that therefore, there is no cause to administer mass vaccinations.
Getting vaccinated for meningococcal disease is advised for those travelling to Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage or those travelling to countries where there is risk of contracting the disease, said the Ministry. HPA had also issued guidelines on those at risk of developing the disease on social media posts briefing the citizens.
Annual data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) on reported cases and incidences of IMD show that three cases of the disease had appeared in Maldives over the last six years. Two of these cases were reported in 2023 with the most recent case confirmed by HPA on Tuesday.
Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. The bacteria causes two types of meningococcal infections which are meningococcal meningitis and meningococcal septicemia.
With a meningococcal septicemia infection, the bacteria enters the blood and damage the walls of the blood vessels causing bleeding in the skin and organ. With meningococcal meningitis infections, the bacteria affect the meninges and causes acute inflammation of the tissue and fluids.
Although both infections are serious and can be deadly in a matter of hours, HPA has assured that vaccination prevents contraction of the disease.
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