Possible meningitis case at Dickinson ISD

By HARVEY RICE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Published 12:05 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2011

GALVESTON – The Dickinson school district is sending a letter to parents of all its 9,000 students Tuesday warning that a school employee is suspected of contracting meningococcal meningitis, a sometimes fatal disease.

The district will send a second letter to employees and parents of students who may have come in contact with the employee, spokeswoman Tammy Dowdy said.

The Galveston County Health District on Monday notified the school district that it was investigating the possibility that a Dickinson ISD employee had meningitis. Dowdy said the health district is awaiting laboratory test results, usually available in three to five days.

Federal health privacy laws prevent the district from revealing the employee's name, job or the school where the employee worked, Dowdy said.

The health district said meningitis is spread by direct contact with nose or throat fluids of an infected person. Fluids can be spread by coughing, kissing, sharing utensils or drinking after an infected person.

Symptoms may include fever, chills, headache, stiff neck, lethargy, nausea, vomiting and purple skin rash.

(News Media: For more information contact Kurt Koopmann, GCHD Public Information Officer, 409-938-2211 or kkoopman@gchd.org)