The three affected people are between 20 and 30 years old and started showing symptoms between July 15 and 17, according to a press release from Toronto Public Health (TPH) on Thursday. The health unit says the infected people were born outside of Canada in countries that do not provide childhood immunization against the disease. It is not known where the infected individuals were born. “TPH was unable to identify a link between these cases. All three individuals were recently confirmed to have the same rare strain of serogroup C meningococcal disease,” the statement said. The most invasive meningococcal disease is associated with a bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis, which causes infection in the lining of the brain, spinal cord, and bloodstream. “People spread meningococcal bacteria to other people by sharing respiratory and throat secretions (saliva or spit). Generally, it takes close or prolonged contact for these bacteria to spread,” says TPH. More specifically, the infection can be transmitted by kissing, coughing and sharing objects such as eating utensils, cups, cigarettes and musical instruments. Symptoms of infection include fever, aches, joint pain, headache, neck stiffness and photophobia. The disease is known to progress quickly and complications include low blood pressure, seizures, hearing loss, amputations, brain damage or death. TPH encourages adults between the ages of 20 and 36 to get the meningococcal vaccine as soon as possible if they haven’t already. Vaccines are 97 percent effective in infants within one year of vaccination, and drop to 68 percent after one year, according to TPH. The health unit says it is monitoring vaccine demand and “actively exploring additional vaccination channels.” More information about the disease can be found on the city’s website.
