ROME, Aug 2 — An Italian woman died yesterday from meningitis after attending the Catholic World Youth Day in Poland with hundreds of thousands of other young pilgrims, the Italian Conference of Bishops said.

The Church body said in a statement to Italian media that the 500 youths who were part of the same travel group as the young woman had been preventively administered antibiotics in case of possible infection.

The unidentified woman died in a hospital in Vienna after being admitted on her way home from Krakow, where Pope Francis celebrated mass on Sunday with over 1.5 million pilgrims.

The hospital has advised anyone who visited the Italian contingent’s "Casa Italia” headquarters in Krakow to seek the same treatment and to go immediately to hospital for checking if they detect any meningitis symptoms, which can include rashes, fever, headaches and vision problems. — AFP