Meningitis has been officially confirmed in the student who is being treated in Rio hospital. The uncle of the 18-year-old special school student from Ilia described the hours of anxiety experienced by the child’s family.

“Doctors did everything they could; the child is in the ICU. His condition is serious but stable,” the 18-year-old’s uncle told patrisnews.gr.

Returned from Loutraki with a severe headache

According to the uncle, the student had travelled to Loutraki where he participated in the Panhellenic Special Olympics Games “Loutraki 2026”, which were recently completed (held from May 8 to May 13, 2026), with the participation of more than 450 athletes from across Greece and Cyprus.

The health issue appeared immediately after the child returned from the event. According to the relative, the 18-year-old came home with a severe headache, which worsened rapidly over the following hours, leading to his urgent transfer to the hospital in Pyrgos and subsequently to intubation in the ICU of the University Hospital of Patras in Rio.

“Contact tracing is required”

The family in the village has already taken the necessary precautionary measures and is strictly following doctors’ instructions. However, the student’s uncle warns that there may be risk for hundreds of fellow athletes who were in the same environment:

“The child had obviously been in contact with many other children during the games. There is great concern for the health of the other children who participated. Immediate contact tracing is required by the competent health authorities in order to protect others who may be at risk,” he said.

Following the confirmation of the diagnosis and the link to the large sporting event in Loutraki, the case is now in the hands of EODY (National Public Health Organization) and public health authorities, in order to begin tracing and informing close contacts of the 18-year-old, aiming to prevent further spread of the disease.