FLORENCE, ITALY – Tuscan public health officials called for anyone who came into contact with a three-year-old meningitis patient to come forward for potentially life-saving treatment.
Tuscany has seen 33 cases and seven deaths from meningitis since the beginning of the year, regional officials said. Of the fatalities, one was in Arezzo, three occurred in Empoli, one in Florence, one in Massa Carrara and one in Prato. The ages ranged from 12 to 82 years old.
The three-year-old girl who fell ill with meningitis type B was hospitalized in Florence last night, officials said. She goes to public kindergarten in the village of Ghezzano near the Tuscan spa town of San Giuliano Terme. On October 4, she went to the 4:15pm show of the movie Inside Out at Isola Verde movie theater in Pisa, and on October 6 she went to the new McDonald’s on the Pisa docks.
Local health authorities are treating the child’s family, friends, and teachers, and urged anyone else who may have come into contact with her by chance to go to their local public health clinic. They also urged parents to get their children vaccinated against the deadly disease. Meningitis vaccines are free for children born in 2014 and up, and vaccination against meningitis B is strongly recommended.