Outbreak of Meningococcimia in Delhi

GoanCanuck

lobo

A good heads up for anyone heading out there.

mira4bai4

Take this one seriously as symptoms are hard to recognise on top of all our other symptoms in India and if it is anything like what happens here in Aust it can be a tricky illness to get through for the best of us.

satine

Oh great!!! 12 more days left for my trip back home- DELHI!!!

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edwardseco

The shot for this one is expensive. But, I suppose so is brain damage, etc..

TimMakins

The Indian TV news this morning is reporting 4 dead and 51 hospitalised, mainly in the walled city. If you are about to leave for India, get your shots before you go.

Tim Makins

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Travelling Tim - http://www.mapability.com/blogs/

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

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Hana

How far in advance should I get the shot? Anybody has any idea?

wandering_kat

Looking at prices in London, the shot for subtypes A & C is £20, whilst there is another shot for ACYW which is £42. According to the link, the people who died were infected with subtype A. Does that mean the A&C shot would be enough to cover it?

Anyone know how effective this vaccine is?

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-m2-

Good grief people, Delhi is a city of 15,000,000 or so people and a few living in overcrowded, poor areas of the city have contracted a serious disease. The government is taking steps to isolate and control it, just as would happen in any other place. Outbreaks of one kind or another break out everywhere these days; there is lots to worry about if you are so inclined.

So in another thread which is going to many pages, one of the main themes is LP's 'fearmongering'. And here we go with another scare thread -- complete with bold face warnings to get shots (sorry Tim) and worst-case scenarios.

At some point, we all have to assume some risk in our lives, the question is evaluating the risk and taking appropriate action. Whether it is showering with your mouth open, crossing a street, or visiting a country of so vast a population that at any moment there are one hell of a lot of people sick from a variety of causes, there are no certainties in life.

Worrying about the 00.01% problems doesn't work for me, but to each his own.

mikkilake

Hana- I don't know how far in advance you should get the vaccine but I got it this morning and I'm leaving in 4 days, but most times 2 weeks is good enough. If you are going at all I'd say go ahead and get it. 10-15% of those who get it die. Of those who survive, another 10% lose arms or legs, become deaf, suffer strokes or seizures or become mentally retarded.
Don't mean to scare anyone but this is pretty serious so if you may be in an affected area do get the shot.

Indojingai

OMG, OMG... this is bad, very very bad.
Screw the LP, no harm in changing your plans a bit, getting shots or both.

I was trying not to but cant help, this type of disease can run into 'SARS' like proportions... tropical climates, communicable (perhaps air borne), blah blah blah...

I am a bit concerned for my folks at home.

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-m2-

Sorry, in the above post, I wasn't thinking in terms of someone who stays in, or is planning on heading to Delhi in the next month or two, before it is clear that this outbreak is under control. Sometimes hard to avoid being in crowds and I can see how it would be good idea to have protection from such a nasty bug.

In general, I still think people worry too much.

TimMakins

Sorry, Mike2, but I have been a long-term believer that everyone should get the shots recommended by their local tropical health centre, and take the malaria tabs. This shot is usually recommended for India: the current deaths and hospitalisations should, whilst certainly not causing everyone to panic, serve to bring to the attention of newbie travellers that they aren't coming on an inter-rail trip to Europe. These diseases can and do kill - it may be a small chance that you will *actually* get them, but they say that about winning the lottery as well, and people *do* win every week !

Tim Makins

lobo

The old phase

"I would rather have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it".

Sums it up for me, people worrying about their health dear dear what ever next.

Get the shots or take a risk eh? Hmmm decisions decisions...............

cyberhippie

Well if you feel the need to have you're shots get them before you arrive in Delhi. This has taken the Delhi goverment by suprise, yesterdays news reported that only 30% of health workers dealing with the disease have been vaccinated due to a shortage of vaccines!! (this is the news of course they're not always right)
This is a serious disease, however the Local Health authorities insist that 52 cases do not constitute an epidemic and there is no need for wide spread panic (of course they would say that) also at least some of these cases haven't been confirmed by the Infectious diseases department in Delhi so the number of cases could be lower.
Still the disease is present and it's up to the individual to decide what measures he/she should take!!