No meningitis reports among Luxembourg Scouts

Luxembourg Scouts returning from a jamboree in Japan are urged to check for meningitis symptoms after two Scottish Scouts were diagnosed with the disease.

The two were among thousands of young people participating in the international Scout gathering in Japan from July 28 to August 8.

Upon their return to Scotland, they were found to have contracted meningococcal meningitis, which it is thought they contracted towards the end of their stay.

According to Luxembourg's Health Ministry, the delegation of 207 Scouts and Girl Scouts from the Grand Duchy who participated in the event are not affected.

“According to information received from the Luxembourg Embassy in Tokyo, members of the national delegation are healthy,” the ministry said in a statement.

The majority of the Luxembourg group is expected to return this weekend.

Fact sheets about the illness have been circulated among the youngsters concerned. 

Meningococcus bacteria

Meningococcus bacteria can appear occasionally in some people without knowing exactly where they come from.

In rare cases, they can be transmitted from the patient to another person but only by very close direct contact.

This is a purely human bacterium that is not transmitted by animals. It survives only very briefly outside a human body.

Transmission occurs through saliva: a person placing such an object in his mouth that the patient had put in his mouth just before and can introduce the bacteria in his body.

A similar problem may arise for example when several people drinking from the same bottle. 

Symptoms

To eliminate any possibility of spread of infection to people who have had very close contact with someone with meningitis, antibiotics can be administered as a preventative measure.

Such precautions, however, are not necessary for people who have not been in close contact with someone who has contracted the illness. The incubation period of the disease lasts for three to four days and maximum 10.

Meningitis symptoms include: high temperature, headache, vomiting and neck stiffness. Meningococcal meningitis is a notifiable disease in Luxembourg: on average about 3 cases per year are reported.

Do not miss the news - sign up to receive the wort.lu newsletter in English delivered to your inbox six days a week.