Taipei: Taiwan has reported its first case of meningococcal meningitis this year involving a senior citizen who was hospitalized for two weeks before passing away in late January, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the patient, a man in his 70s from northern Taiwan, experienced breathing difficulties, dizziness, and unexplained falls on Jan. 18. He was taken to an emergency room and later admitted to a hospital the same day, the CDC reported. Initially diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis, the man was placed in a negative pressure isolation ward and administered antibiotics in an attempt to combat the symptoms, as stated by CDC physician Lin Yung-ching during a weekly briefing.

Despite receiving medical care, the patient was later diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis and succumbed to the illness and pneumonia on Jan. 31, Lin said. The CDC noted that the occurrence of meningococcal meningitis cases this year aligns with figures from the same period between 2016 and 2024, which recorded zero to two cases from Jan. 1 to Feb. 4.

Full-year statistics from 2016 to 2024 indicate that Taiwan reports between 1 to 12 cases annually. Most patients fall within the age range of 25-64 (30 percent), followed by those aged 19-24 and 65 or older (23 percent each). Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial infection of the meninges, the membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord. This condition can lead to severe brain damage and is often fatal.

Common symptoms include a stiff neck, high fever, nausea, confusion, headaches, and vomiting, as noted by the CDC.