At the age of 23, she died in 3 days from fulminant meningitis. Bassetti explains how, perhaps, he could have saved himself
Lara Ponticiello, a student from Mantua, didn't have a chance. She died in Berlin where she was on Erasmus
BOLOGNA – It was Berlin that had an Erasmus experience, but it went “from life to death in the space of just three days”. From his Instagram, infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti tells the tragic story of Lara Ponticiello, a girl from Gonzaga, in the province of Mantua. victim of a fulminant meningitis that left her with no escape. So just three days passed “between Friday 24 May and Sunday, when Lara Ponticiello, a 23-year-old student, closed her eyes for the last time – reports the infectious disease specialist – The girl, >enrolled at the University of Bologna, she was killed by fulminant meningitis while she was in Berlin for the Erasmus project”.
Bassetti then explains “what” caused the girl’s premature death: “Meningitis is a serious infection that affects the brain and can lead to death, even in a few hours. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. The viral form is more common and less serious, while the bacterial form can have much more serious consequences. Bacterial meningitis can cause death or permanent damage.” Bassetti knows well the bacteria that most frequently cause meningitis. bacterial: they are Pneumococcus, Meningococcus and Haemophilus. And they are so well known by the medical and scientific community that all three are “predictable with vaccination”, the infectious disease specialist points out. Finally, “the most serious and fulminant forms of meningitis are generally linked to “meningococcus belonging to both groups B and A, C, Y, W135”, i.e. one of the three enemy bacteria for which the vaccine is available.