Kevin Wilson
Northern News Services

Spence Bay (Sept 03/01) - A 24-year-old man from here is the fifth Nunavummiut to contract meningitis this year, but the first to die.

The Taloyoak man, whose name has not been released, died after being medevaced to an Edmonton-area hospital from Yellowknife's Stanton Regional.

Don Ellis, acting director of Health and Social Services programs for the Government of Nunavut, said the man died Aug. 22.

"It was evident he was critically ill in Taloyoak," said Ellis.

The man was formally diagnosed with meningitis in Yellowknife.

Meningitis causes inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms are often similar to the flu, and can include fatigue, muscle pain, irritability, nausea, and vomiting.

Dr. Richard Nuttall, Nunavut's acting chief medical officer, said the man was infected by Streptococcal Pneumoniae. The bacterial infection commonly causes pneumonia, sinusitis, and ear infections. In rare instances, it can cause meningitis.

Nuttall said, "Other cases of meningitis in Nunavut have not been caused by Streptococcal pneumoniae."

Ellis said that the department has provided the deceased man's family and other members of the community with information on the illness, but that no other special measures such as quarantines or vaccinations were needed.

Nunavummiut between the ages of 2 and 20 are routinely immunized against streptococcal pneumoniae, as are residents over the age of 65.

There have been at least five cases of meningitis in Nunavut this year, four of them in the Kivalliq region