Increase in children with viral meningitis

From September 1 to October 9 alone, the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital recorded about 200 cases of children admitted to the hospital with symptoms of nausea, headache, fever and diagnosed with viral meningitis, most of which were caused by the Enterovirus (EV). In addition to causing meningitis, EV also causes hand, foot and mouth disease.

Severe headache due to meningitis

On the morning of October 22, at the Tropical Disease Center, National Children's Hospital, we noted that many children with viral meningitis were being treated there. In the same hospital room were Dao Manh T. (8 years old, residing in Gia Lam district) and Nguyen Bao N. (4 years old, residing in Chuong My district), Hanoi , both diagnosed with meningitis caused by the EV virus. According to Bao N.'s mother, 4 days ago, while eating dinner, N. complained of stomachache and nausea. At 10 pm, he complained of a headache. He woke up at 2 am and kept complaining of a headache. At 5 am, the family called a taxi to take him to the National Children's Hospital.

After 5 days of treatment, the 4-year-old child with meningitis caused by EV virus is stable and is about to be discharged from the hospital.

In the case of Dao Manh T., there was no sign of nausea but only a headache. The family gave the child painkillers but it did not help. “At noon on October 19, when I came home from work, I saw my child with a severe headache, crying and saying “I am in so much pain”, I did not have time to do anything and took a taxi to take him straight here. When the results came back, he had meningitis, I was very scared. But luckily he came to the hospital early, so after 1 day of treatment, his headache symptoms gradually decreased”, said T.’s mother. According to the young mother, in her child’s class, there were also friends who were absent due to fever, and the results showed viral fever, but no one had meningitis.

According to MSc. Dr. Le Thi Yen, Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, both children were admitted to the hospital in a serious condition with meningitis, and lumbar puncture tested positive for EV by PCR. After 4 days of treatment according to the viral meningitis regimen, both had no more headaches, were alert and had no complications.

According to a parent in Hanoi, for more than a week now, in her child's preschool class, nearly 10 children have been absent due to vomiting, fever, and some diarrhea. Fearing the spread of infectious diseases due to the changing weather, especially in preschool classes, many parents have let their children stay home from school. However, according to Dr. Yen, many children who were hospitalized with test results showing meningitis caused by the EV virus did not show symptoms of abdominal pain or diarrhea. EV is a family of intestinal viruses, including many different types of viruses and can cause epidemics. EV is mainly transmitted through the digestive tract, meaning that the patient will excrete the virus through stool or oral secretions, thereby infecting surrounding children. In addition to causing meningitis, EV also causes hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Parents need to inform their child's teacher about their illness.

Speaking to CAND Newspaper reporters, Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, said that viral meningitis is a meningitis caused by a virus. The disease occurs in all ages. If caused by an intestinal virus, it often spreads in young children. If in older children, it often causes severe symptoms such as headaches. The disease can spread to form small epidemics. So far, there have been no special complications, the disease is usually benign, and treatment takes about 3-5 days to discharge from the hospital. Only a few have severe complications, which can lead to circulatory failure, respiratory failure requiring oxygen and mechanical ventilation.

According to Dr. Hai, this year, a large number of cases of meningitis caused by the intestinal virus EV group have been identified. Symptoms of the disease are fever, nausea, headache, stiff neck, accompanied by digestive disorders. Many parents, when seeing their children with fever and diarrhea, think that their children have food poisoning. However, according to Dr. Hai, if a child has a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, etc., the doctor will note whether or not there is meningitis during a clinical examination, especially in preschool children. The most common causes of viral meningitis include: Enterovirus (EV), Herpesvirus, Arbovirus group (Japanese encephalitis virus, dengue virus, etc.). To make an accurate diagnosis, doctors will puncture the patient's cerebrospinal fluid and perform a PCR test to determine the cause of the virus.

According to doctors, there is currently no specific treatment or vaccine for meningitis caused by EV, so to prevent the disease for children, parents and caregivers need to instruct children to wash their hands with soap before eating, after coughing, sneezing, and going to the toilet. Eat cooked food, boil water, and use clean food of clear origin. Clean shared toys, keep the living environment clean, and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, tables, and chairs to prevent the spread of the virus.

Faced with the fact that meningitis caused by the EV virus is easily spread among preschool and primary school children, Dr. Do Thien Hai recommends that personal hygiene for children is very important, but parents also need to change their perspective, that is, when the child is sick and needs to take time off, they need to inform the teacher if the child has an infectious disease so that the school can take measures to prevent the disease, clean and disinfect toys, floors, eating utensils, etc. to avoid spreading to other students. When the child has symptoms of fever, vomiting, headache that do not respond to antipyretics, parents should not hesitate to take the child to the nearest medical facility for timely diagnosis and treatment by a doctor.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/gia-tang-tre-mac-viem-mang-nao-do-virus-i748086/