Viral meningitis case at Longview High School confirmed

Worker diagnosed; school district not required to notify parents of strain

LONGVIEW — A person assigned to work at Longview High School has been confirmed by Gregg County Health Department as having been diagnosed with viral meningitis.

In an e-mail dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the Longview Independent School District trustees, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Scott said she first learned the person was seriously ill and hospitalized with meningitis Feb. 15. The Gregg County Health Department officially notified Longview ISD on Feb. 22 that the person was ill with viral meningitis.

"The school district is required by law to notify students and parents of any case of bacterial meningitis, which can be contagious," Scott said.

She added that there is no law requiring notification to parents for viral meningitis.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. People sometimes refer to it as spinal meningitis.

"I directed the high school to information in the elementary and middle school handbooks as well as the district's Web site, and Jan Banks (Longview High School nurse) sent an e-mail to all teachers with vital information about meningitis," Scott said.

Bettie Clark, an LVN who performs disease surveillance with the Gregg County Health Department, said viral meningitis usually is not life threatening and normally requires about a two-day hospital stay.

Clark said the most important things health care personnel try to monitor are the patient's hydration levels.

"Anyone who is concerned about exposure should follow up with their health care provider," Clark said.

Dr. Jill Holland, a family practice physician in Longview, said any kind of meningitis has the potential to be fatal.

"Bacterial meningitis is the one we worry about the most because it makes people sicker and is more deadly," she said.

Holland said people can be immunized for bacterial meningitis, and the viral type is still serious, though it usually isn't fatal.

She said the symptoms for either kind of meningitis include a stiff neck, fever, headache. Other symptoms could be confusion and might also include seizures and sensitivity to light.

"You should avoid contact with a person who has it because it is spread through coughing and contact."

Holland said it is not necessary to have direct contact with the person who has meningitis to catch the disease.

"You can have direct contact with something the infected person has just touched," Holland said.

She stresses that hand-washing is very important in the prevention of spreading disease and to use an antiseptic to clean surfaces.

"People who are immune-compromised, such as people with chronic lung disease, diabetes or (who are) on chemotherapy are more susceptible and should be especially careful."

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said the decision to notify parents and students was entirely up to the school district.

"Under the Texas education code, the district has to relate information on bacterial meningitis each school year," she said.

Culbertson added that any dissemination of information about illness of employees or students is up to the school district.