The same deadly strain of meningococcal bacteria that killed two men who played in a June 9 hockey game in Fort Collins has sickened a child.
However, health officials said the child has been discharged from Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and is doing well. Parents of the child have asked health officials not to identify the child’s gender or age.
The child went to the hospital emergency room with a fever last week, said Jane Viste, spokeswoman with Larimer County’s Department of Health and Environment. Because of difficulty establishing and maintaining an IV to deliver antibiotics, the child was hospitalized for a few days, Viste said.
The child was never in intensive care.
The Colorado State Health Department confirmed on Wednesday that the illness was caused by a Group C meningococcal bacteria, and Friday, molecular “fingerprinting” showed it matched the bacteria that caused the outbreak in June.
The child had a parent who participated in the adult recreational league hockey game at the Edora Pool Ice Center on June 9. Two men who played in that game later fell ill from the same bacterial strain and died.
Another man who played June 9 fell ill in Montana and spent several days in a hospital there, but he has since returned home, Viste said.
The afflicted child was not attending school or child care, and exposure to others was very limited, she said. Those who were exposed have been offered preventive treatment.
Although the child’s parents received preventive antibiotics and vaccinations in June, the child did not, Viste said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
