Meningitis kills Greene teen
A 15-year-old boy from the Waynesburg area died Tuesday of bacterial meningitis, according to health officials. The boy, who has not been identified, was admitted to Southwest Regional Medical Center Monday morning, according to Joy Eggleston, director of marketing for the hospital. The boy received treatment at SRMC and was transferred later that morning to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh in critical condition, Eggleston said.
He died Tuesday, according to Richard McGarvey, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
McGarvey said the boy’s family lives in Greene County, but does not attend class at an area high school. He would not specify, however, if the boy was home schooled or enrolled in an online curriculum.
An employee at the Central Greene School District said the boy lived within the district, but was enrolled in cyber school and did not attend classes at the high school.
Superintendent Jerome Bartley was not available for comment Wednesday.
Health officials have contacted those who may have had contact with the boy, including those at a gymnastics facility in Monongalia County, W.Va., where the boy practiced, though the likelihood of additional cases is low.
Shelley C. Martin, public health educator for the Monongalia County Health Department, said other persons attending the gymnastics facility may not be at risk unless they had “prolonged direct contact” with the boy.
“This disease does not live on surfaces and there is no risk of getting this disease from the facility such as mats, bars or other equipment,” Martin said.
McGarvey said Pennsylvania officials have conducted a “contact investigation” to determine if anyone had shared saliva or possibly a drink with the boy. Those who had direct or prolonged contact with the boy were given an antibiotic as a precaution, he said.
“Additional cases come up very rarely because of the type of contact you have to have [to spread the disease],” McGarvey said.
Meningococcal meningitis is spread from person to person by sharing saliva such as sharing eating utensils, drinking after others, kissing on the mouth, sharing a cigarette or by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“We have not seen anyone exhibit any signs of symptoms,” Martin said Wednesday.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health, meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord that may cause fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, a stiff neck and rash. Left untreated, bacterial meningitis can result in brain damage and sometimes death. The disease can also spread in very crowded settings like daycares, barracks, dormitories, jails and bars.
For more information on the disease, visit the Monongalia County Health Department at www.monchd.org
or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.org
.