Of all the contagious bacteria that can be spread in a nightclub, neisseria meningitidis, the bacteria that can cause meningitis is perhaps the most swift and the most deadly. It can be spread through saliva and respiratory secretions, both of which are commonly exchanged in a bar.
Authorities in Berlin are urging anyone who visited Berlin's queer-friendly KitKatClub nightclub over the weekend to seek an immediate test for the bacterium.
A man who attended the “CarneBall Bizarre” fetish party on Saturday, September 29 was hospitalized in critical condition and unable to speak about the sexual contact he had at the club, so officials are urging everyone to get tested and vaccinated.
Deutsche Welle reports: “The bacteria strains A, C, Y and W135 are believed to have been possibly spread at the music-thumping Berlin institution, known for wild and raunchy sex acts being performed out in the open or in nooks and crannies…Common symptoms include severe headache, high fever, chills, dizziness, neck stiffness and extreme malaise. Within a few hours, a life-threatening infection can develop. The infection can be treated with antibiotics.”
Wrote Berlin officials: “All persons on KitKatClub on Saturday should seek preventative treatment immediately. Please contact your family doctor, your family doctor or the emergency department of a hospital immediately. On Saturday, 29.09.2018, there was, according to current knowledge, the transmission of bacterial meningitis (meningococcal meningitis) in KitKatClub in Köpenicker Straße 76, 10179 Berlin-Mitte. So far, it is known that the meningococci belong to one of the groups A, C, Y, W135. The infection takes place via liquids from the mouth and throat area. As a rule, this requires a very close contact. Preventive treatment usually consists of taking an antibiotic. Meningococcal meningitis is a serious disease. Common symptoms include severe headache, high fever, chills, dizziness, neck stiffness and extreme malaise. Within a few hours, a serious, life-threatening clinical picture can develop.”
Outbreaks of the bacteria have occurred in the last five years in the U.S. in Chicago, and L.A..
