TRAVELLERS have been warned of a life-threatening infection that can kill within 24 hours, after cases of the disease were detected in four holiday hotspots as well as the UK. In recent weeks, France , Norway, the US and the UK have all reported cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in people who've travelled to Saudi Arabia. 2 Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis and can result in meningitis and septicaemia Credit: Getty In its most recent Communicable Disease Threats Report , the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned that someone in the Netherlands had picked up the sometimes deadly disease without having travelled to the Middle Eastern region.
Though they hadn't gone there themselves, the patient fell ill with IMD after coming into "close contact" with people who'd returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on May 8. "The case itself did not join on the travellers and it is not possible to rule out other potential exposures," the ECDC stated. The person began experiencing symptoms of IMD serogroup W on May 16 and wasn't vaccinated against the disease.
Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis and can result in two serious illnesses - meningitis and septicaemia. The bacteria often lurks in the back of the throat without making people ill, but they can occasionally invade the body and cause a severe bacterial infection that tends to progress rapidly. Meningococcal meningitis an.
