Letter to the Editor on meningococcal

Sitting here reading this morning’s Mercury “Challenge to bug strain secrecy” I can’t but wonder why the state government is keeping secrets? At least they can tell the public what is the strain of the disease? And what about an investigation over possible links between the 3 victims, so far? It is quite likely there are many sources for the disease but consider one remote possibility….

Meningococcal bacteria are only passed from person to person by regular close, prolonged household or intimate contact with infected secretions from the back of the nose and throat. So it would seem obvious, besides the three recent victims, there must be people walking around who are harbouring the disease. So where did they get it from? That is the important question.

What about a possibility that there are ‘reservoirs’ of meningococcal disease in the natural environment and for an individual frequently in that environment they may become an asymptomatic carrier of the disease with no apparent ill-health effects on themselves but when in close contact with a particularly susceptible person, can pass on the disease? i.e. remember “Typhoid Mary”?

Several years ago near Hobart another teenage girl suddenly died of meningococcal disease. She, like the girl who recently died of the disease, had frequent contact with horses. Have any of the other two recent cases had any contact with horses, either directly or through family members?

Note this tragic first case here: http://www.meningococcal.org.au/stories/

So, can horses, or most importantly, their poo, be a disease vector for other diseases?

Definitely according to what the US CDC site mentions as diseases related to contact with horses:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/horses.html

and: https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/horses.html

Until the state government starts informing the public on all it knows and what investigations are underway without fear or favour, we are left with having to second-guess what is really going on.
Don Maisch