Drug-resistant meningitis strain prompts alert

The strain, which struck three people in the Fargo-Moorhead area, one fatally, is impervious to the usual antibiotic treatment.

By MAURA LERNER, Star Tribune

Last update: February 8, 2008 - 11:27 PM

Three cases of a drug-resistant strain of meningitis have surfaced in Minnesota and North Dakota, prompting an alert to physicians from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Three people in the Fargo-Moorhead area -- two adults last month and a child last year --developed a form of meningitis resistant to the usual types of antibiotics, known as quinolines, the Health Department said Friday.

Those antibiotics are not used to treat the sick, but to prevent people who come in close contact with meningitis patients from getting the disease, said Richard Danila, Minnesota's deputy state epidemiologist.

He said other antibiotics are available for prevention and that doctors opt for them instead.

Of the three patients, one, a 53-year-old woman in Minnesota, died of meningitis, Danila said. The other two -- a 22-year-old college student and a young child -- recovered after being hospitalized.

Danila said that meningitis is fatal about 15 percent of the time and that this strain did not appear more dangerous than usual.

Dr. Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota epidemiologist, said the discovery was important because these are the first-known cases of quinoline-resistant meningitis in the United States.

"Even though there are other drugs that can be used to prevent meningococcal disease, having one less weapon in our arsenal reminds us of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use," said Lynfield.

She said misuse of antibiotics -- such as giving them for colds -- is the main reason they lose their effectiveness. "We must use antibiotics carefully," she said.

Lynfield also said the vaccine used to prevent meningitis does not cover the strain found in the three drug-resistant cases.

The infection can be spread by sharing drinks, kissing and other close contact.

Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384