Management of a Neisseria meningitidis case: factors that guarantee the effectiveness of supporting Public Health actions.

Abstract: Among invasive bacterial diseases, meningococcal meningitis is a serious and contagious disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis. The disease has a high lethality grade and could have long-term sequelae. This paper describes a case of meningitis that occurred in the territory under the jurisdiction of Local Health Authority ULSS 1 Dolomiti and the related management methods. The activities described concern rapid alerts, an epidemiological investigation, the administration of chemoprophylaxis and offering vaccinations, implemented according to the current Public Health protocol through different healthcare workers. This case report aims to support the management of possible similar cases, underlining the conditions that favoured the application of the envisaged measures, including an on-call ready availability service; the presence of population vaccination centres located in the area investigated; and a network sensitive to early warnings and collaboration within and between Local Health Authorities.

Healthy Snack Project: Improving Healthy Choices through Multidisciplinary Food Education Actions.

School is one of the main settings where it is useful to guarantee health promotion actions, as it is well known that diet and eating habits that are shaped in the early stages of life are maintained through adulthood. The objective of this study was to carry out the "Healthy Snack" project to promote nutritional education in primary schools in the Province of Belluno in the 2022-2023 school year, in which 925 students were enrolled, and to evaluate the intervention in terms of changes in eating habits during their school breaks. Following the workshops performed by the healthcare workers (HCWs), medals were awarded, taking into account the quality of the participating students' mid-morning snacks, considering the food pyramid. The results collected in the annual survey period were related to the type and quantity of snacks consumed at school, and allowed students to gain a final score, comparing the period before and after the educational intervention to demonstrate the effectiveness of the actions promoted by HCWs and the increased nutritional quality of meals. In light of this evidence, public health strategies must continue to emphasize the importance of implementing health promotion interventions and actions aimed at children in order to prevent weight gain in this age group, and the potential development of cardiometabolic pathologies over their lifetime.