Four crew members on an Italian cruise ship were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis Tuesday. USA Today reported that all of the more than 2,700 passengers on the ship were given antibiotics to take by doctors.
The passengers on the MSC Orchestra, infected with meningitis were taken to a hospital in Livorno, Italy while doses of the antibiotics rifampicin and ciprofloxacin were given out to passengers, CNN reported.
CNN reported that, "The crew members were diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, which attacks the lining of the brain and the spinal cord. The disease is passed by close contact with respiratory secretions or saliva, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control."
The Health Ministry told CNN that the strand of meningitis was found in kitchen crew members, so they do not have close contact with passengers on the ship.
Recently, there has been an outbreak of fungal Menangitis in the United States where eight people have been infected with it after injecting themselves with steroids that have the fungus in it. CNN notes that this case is a different disease.
According to the CDC website, meningitis is usually severe and an infection may show up in a person by a sudden onset of fever, headache, and stiff neck. Other symptoms also include, vomiting and nausea, increased sensitivity to light and "altered mental status (confusion)".
"The symptoms of bacterial meningitis can appear quickly or over several days. Typically they develop within 3-7 days after exposure," says the CDC website.
Bacterial meningitis can be treated with the use of antibiotics but the CDC notes that it is important that the treatment starts as soon as possible for the potentially deadly disease. "Appropriate antibiotic treatment of the most common types of bacterial meningitis should reduce the risk of dying from meningitis to below 15 percent," says the CDC website.
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This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
