Overview
- Regional authorities confirmed that a 17-year-old from Benissa died of meningitis after being treated in the ICU at Hospital de Dénia.
- Public Health activated its meningitis protocol and is listing recent close contacts to provide chemoprophylaxis, which is a short course of antibiotics to prevent infection.
- The girl was transferred by ambulance from the Benissa health center to Dénia after a rapid decline that began when she felt unwell at a Valencia Basket game.
- Only laboratory testing can identify the cause and type of meningitis, and Hospital de Dénia has a cerebrospinal-fluid PCR panel that can detect 21 pathogens within hours.
- Officials remind people that bacterial meningitis, though less common, can be severe, spreads through coughs, sneezes, or kissing, and vaccine uptake in the region has fallen in recent years.