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RTE Star James Patrice Reveals 'harrowing' Near-death Experience After Stomach Pain Amid 'timing Is Everything' Alert
RTE star James Patrice has revealed his horrific experience when he nearly died at 10-years-old after developing meningitis and septicaemia.
Just after Christmas, the Dancing With The Stars presenter developed a stomach pain, which he put down to having eaten too many selection boxes.
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James Patrice developed a stomach pain just after ChristmasCredit: Social Media Collect
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James Patrice was just 10 when he got meningitis and septicaemia
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The Today host opened up on the 'harrowing' experienceCredit: Social Media CollectSpeaking to the Irish Sun, he explained that when he went to the bathroom to try to be sick at around 6am, his mum saw red spots on his legs and knew straight away something was wrong.
He attended his GP, who told him to go straight to Temple Street Hospital as it "didn't look good".
In and out of consciousness, he underwent a lumbar puncture, and his siblings and parents were told that James was "critical" and may not make it – which he described as "harrowing" for his family.
He was quarantined for 48 hours in a glass room, before being moved to intensive care.
James explained: "I was going to intensive care, and I was out of the woods. I was very fortunate that there was no long-term effect after - some people can lose their sight, they can lose their hearing they can lose limbs - it can have profound impacts on some people, so I was very fortunate".
"I remember a lot of it very very well. I was very drowsy at the time, you're in and out of coherence really but I do definitely remember being in the hospital, I was with doctors the whole time - I definitely knew something was wrong.
"They say your whole life flashes before the eyes and I think that's definitely true.
"I remember before I came to properly in intensive care I remember seeing my mum, my dad, my sister and my granny basically telling me to 'get up there and cop on and get home' - it's something that definitely stays with you".
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Major social welfare payment switch for thousands of Irish people in weeksJames partnered with Meningitis Ireland to spread awareness on the illness.
'MOST TRAUMATIC DAY OF MY LIFE' My son, 18, wrote his illness off as a hangover - hours later he was deadMeningitis is an infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, which can cause serious brain problems and also lead to death if not treated quickly.
It is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection, and that same bacteria can also cause septicaemia (blood poisoning) and a rash.
Vaccines can offer some protection against meningitis.
The illness can kill in under 24 hours, and around half of all meningitis deaths are in children under five.
Today, October 5 is World Meningitis Day, and James is urging others to share their stories in order to raise vital awareness of meningitis, so it can ultimately be defeated.
The thing with meningitis is people think it only effects children, but it can affect you - it doesn't favour anyone, it affects every one of every age."
James PatricePeople are contributing their story to 'Meningitis In Your Words', which is an initiative led by the Meningitis Research Foundation, aiming to collect 2030 stories of meningitis.
James said: "Those stories really put a human face to the infection, and they also show that it's not linear at all, some people can have all of the symptoms, some people might only have one or two, some people mightn't have any.
"It's all about awareness and knowledge and hopefully then that knowledge leads to power in the long run when it comes to defeating meningitis".
MENINGITIS - THE FACTS
MENINGITIS is an infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, which can cause serious brain problems and also lead to death if not treated quickly.
It is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection, and that same bacteria can also cause septicaemia (blood poisoning) and a rash.
Vaccines can offer some protection against meningitis.
The illness can kill in under 24 hours, and around half of all meningitis deaths are in children under five.
Symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia develop suddenly, and usually patients do not get every symptom.
The most well-known symptom is a rash, but according to the HSE, symptoms can appear in any order.
Symptoms include:
Babies may also:
The HSE urges patients not to wait for a rash to appear before getting medical help.
James added: "The thing with meningitis is people think it only affects children, but it can affect you - it doesn't favour anyone, it affects every one of every age.
While anyone can get it, the people most at risk of getting meningitis include babies and young children, teenagers and young adults, elderly people and people with a weak immune system - for example, those with HIV and those having chemotherapy.
James urged: "Go with your gut, go to meningitis.Org, check out the symptoms, keep them to hand, screenshot them and send them into your WhatsApp group.
"Just take the time to familiarise yourself with the symptoms so if you're not feeling great, you're having a bit of sensitivity to light, if you're having a bit of vomiting or something doesn't feel quite right then pursue it, you can never be too careful.
"Have a look, read stories, check the symptoms and just try and be as vigilant as possible.
"So much of meningitis survival is knowing the symptoms and knowing to act on time - because timing really is everything."
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Meningitis bacteria can impact anyoneCredit: Getty Images - GettyBacterium Found In African Elephants May Explain Sudden Deaths
African savannah elephants are an endangered species so conservationists say any threat to their survival is worrying
A type of bacterium never seen before in wild elephants has been found in the bodies of six African Savannah elephants that died in mysterious circumstances in Zimbabwe.
Scientists think it was the cause of a septicaemia, or blood poisoning, that killed the animals in 2020.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
The study might provide more clues about the deaths of 356 elephants in neighbouring Botswana that same year.
That incident drew international headlines, when conservationists discovered the dead elephants in Botswana's Okavango Panhandle. Some of the animals appeared to have collapsed and died suddenly while walking or running.
Researchers who made the discovery were investigating the sudden deaths of 35 elephants - mostly between August and September 2020 in North-Western Zimbabwe.
Dr Chris Foggin, a wildlife veterinarian from the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust explained that the team had to locate the bodies using a helicopter.
Wearing protective clothing, in extreme heat, he and his team carried out post-mortem examinations of 15 elephants. "They're such large animals," said Dr Foggin. "So it's quite a physical operation to get access to the organs we needed to sample."
The researchers managed to confirm that 13 of the elephants had septicaemia when they died. Crucially they found a potential cause - a bacterium called Bisgaard taxon 45 - in six of the animals. It is a type that has been found previously in swabs taken from tiger or lion bites.
Prof Falko Steinbach from the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency, who was involved in the mission, told BBC Radio 4's Inside Science that severe drought and shortage of food that year could have compromised the animals' health, allowing the disease to overcome their immune defences.
"[This type of bacteria] wasn't completely mysterious - it was known to exist," explained Prof Steinbach. "But it had not been associated with septicaemia and never been found in the African elephants."
The scientist said he suspected that the elephants were under "severe stress" because of the ongoing drought and difficulty finding food.
"This is relatively common," he explained. "We have a lot of pathogens have that [usually] do not cause disease - and certainly not death. But if the host defences break down, that allows the bacteria to spread and in the end, it doesn't just cause a local infection after a bite - but causes severe disease."
Elephants are highly social animals, so the researchers are concerned that they could also transmit the bacteria to others, which would explain the large number of deaths.
Laura Rosen from US-based company Transboundary Epidemiology Analytics, said the finding was "very worrying".
"African savannah elephants are an endangered species with only 350,000 remaining in the wild and ongoing losses estimated at 8% annually. Investigating the deaths of these elephants is crucial to sustain the future of this majestic species."
Prof Steinbach added that more research was needed to understand "the link between this infection and the stress associated with extreme weather events such as drought, which may make outbreaks more likely".
"Hopefully with further studies, we would be able to identify not only what leads to these outbreaks, but also maybe to come up with intervention strategies - possibly even a vaccine. But that would require substantial further investigation."
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