A man named Santiago Dias Rogue, who is 52 and lives in Dubai, got very sick with a rare disease that attacked his heart. Doctors say it’s called Primary Meningococcal Pericarditis, which almost never happens. Usually meningococcal infections hurt the brain or spinal cord. This time it affected the heart’s protective sack instead. [oai_citation:0‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
Santiago felt chest pain and pain in his upper belly for two days. At first doctors thought it was a virus and maybe his diabetes made things worse. He also had swelling in his wrist, from something called reactive arthritis, caused by the infection. [oai_citation:1‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
Then the doctors did a scan of his heart (an echocardiogram). They found fluid and pus building up around his heart, pressing on it so it couldn’t work properly. That was very dangerous — a condition called cardiac tamponade. [oai_citation:2‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
A team of surgeons acted fast. They opened his chest, drained the fluid and pus, and made openings in the heart’s sac so fluid couldn’t build up again. They also took special steps so the infection wouldn’t spread to hospital staff. [oai_citation:3‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
Santiago stayed in the intensive care unit for 3 days, then got better and moved to a regular hospital ward. He took strong medicines through an IV for two weeks. Then he was well enough to go home. [oai_citation:4‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
This kind of case is extremely rare. The doctors said only about six other people in the whole world have had meningococcal infection like this, affecting the heart and causing tamponade. [oai_citation:5‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
Santiago is thankful to the doctors: Dr. Sandeep Shrivastava, Dr. Shipra Shrivastava, Dr. Krishna Sarin, and others, who worked together quickly and carefully to save his life. The doctors said it’s very important for people — especially those with long‑term diseases like diabetes — to see a doctor right away if they feel bad. [oai_citation:6‡Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/indian-expat-survives-one-of-worlds-rarest-heart-infections-in-dubai-1.500274066)
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By Balaram Menon. Original content published by Gulf News.