MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Meningococcal infection, unlike Covid or the flu, cannot cause a pandemic, Vladimir Nikiforov, a visiting specialist in infectious diseases at the Federal Medical Biological Agency, said on Friday.

"Unlike the coronavirus infection and influenza, the meningococcal infection cannot trigger large-scale epidemics or pandemics. But increases and decreases in morbidity are possible. This infection is transmitted by airborne droplets through close human-to-human contact in an enclosed space," he was cited as saying on the agency’s Telegram channel.

According to the expert, meningococcosis is a bacterial infection and is treatable with antibiotics. However, complications or fatalities may occur when the agent is too aggressive or a patient has problems with immunity. The disease cannot be contracted through touch, the expert added.

According to the Sverdlovsk Region’s health ministry, eight people have been hospitalized with meningococcal infection.