Hanoi, Nov. 5 -- "I had never even heard of meningococcal disease. The tragedy struck at a time when I believed I was in the prime of my youth," mentioned Flavio Da Pozzo, who was forced to abandon his dream of becoming a professional footballer after undergoing a leg amputation at the age of 17 due to the illness.

Flavio and his mother, Catherine Nordey, shared their emotional journey of surviving the so-called "potentially 24-hour killer disease" during a press conference titled "The Burden of Disease and Essential Knowledge for the Prevention of Invasive Meningococcal Disease", held on November 3 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The event was organised by the Tam Anh Medical Research Institute (TAMRI) with collaboration from Sanofi, as part of a...