Intimate kissing of many
different partners can
quadruple a teenager's
risk of meningitis, a study
has found.
Kissing with tongues
enables the potentially
deadly
meningococcal bacteria to
pass between partners.
The Australian team which
carried out the British
Medical Journal study of
144 teenagers defined
multiple partners as
between two and seven in
two weeks.
Lead researcher Robert Booy
said teenagers should
change their behaviour
- but accepted most would
not.
QUOTE:
I don't expect teenagers to become nuns and monks
for the duration of their university career, but I
would encourage them to be aware of the symptoms
Linda Glennie, Meningitis Research Foundation
SOME COMMON SYMPTOMS
High temperature,
fever, possibly with cold hands and feet
Vomiting, sometimes diarrhoea
Severe headache
Joint and muscle pains,
possible stomach cramps
Neck stiffness
Dislike of bright lights, disorientation
********
Meningococcal disease is a life threatening condition.
Incidence tends to peak in early childhood and in
adolescence.
It can cause meningitis, an inflammation of the brain
lining, or meninges, and septicaemia, which is the
blood poisoning form of the disease.
The incidence and fatality rate among teenagers in
England and the United States rose dramatically
during the 1990s.
The introduction of the meningitis C vaccine in the
UK in late 1999 - which is given to both babies and
teenagers - has helped numbers drop but other
forms of the infection remain a major problem.
It is known that around one in 10 teens carry
meningococcal bacteria.
LINK:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4696974.stm
No comments:
Post a Comment