Viral Meningitis virus is still active in Georgian schools
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Wednesday, May 28
Health experts decided to suspend classes in schools and kindergartens through 6th grade until the end of the week.
Minister of Health and Social Affairs David Sergeenko announced that "In the regions this will have a certain interval. We think that after a week, the cases of viral meningitis will start to decrease in the regions as well. A positive dynamic has been identified,” Sergeenko stressed, adding "however, because figures have not yet decreased in the regions, we recommended the Education Ministry to continue imposing restrictions upl the 6th Grade for 4 more study days, which is until the end of the week. The same goes for the kindergartens as well,” he stated.
According to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and Public Health, in the past month, 342 cases of meningitis have been reported in Georgia.
Paata Imnadze, head of the NCDC council, stated that viral meningitis is not a danger if the person is under the supervision of a doctor. “This disease leaves no post symptoms at all,” he stressed.
According to the minister, this type of disease does not have a specific vaccine. He said the only effective way to prevent the disease was to have a high standard of personal hygiene, as the disease is transferred through hand contact. “All the schools in Georgia are disinfected and safe; the only need is to keep a high level of personal hygiene, stated Sergeenko.
According to Sergeenko, no more suspensions will be needed from next week. Also the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said viral meningitis was often less severe than bacterial meningitis. However, it could be fatal depending on the virus causing the infection, the person’s age and general health.
