A 50-year-old man and an a senior became the first two people in Costa Rica – and in the Americas – who were found to be infected with the bacteria most resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment of meningitis and meningococcal septicemia that cause serious brain damage and even death.
The Centro Nacional de Referencia en Bacteriología (CNRB) – National Center of Reference in Bacteriology, of the Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (Inciensa) – Costa Rican Institute for Research and Education in Nutrition and Health (Incense), issued an alert, in early February, after documenting the circulation of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) serogroup Y, resistant to penicillin and not sensitive to cefotaxime, two third generation antibiotics, reports La Nacion.