Bacterial Meningitis

Pupil with meningitis is `doing well,' official says A 7-year-old Hamilton Elementary School pupil who received a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is in stable condition at the University of Maryland Medical Center, city Health Commissioner Dr. Peter L. Beilenson said yesterday. "He's doing well," Beilenson said. Over the weekend, the child became infected with neisseria meningitidis, a common form of bacterial meningitis, which is an infection of the fluid of the spinal cord and surrounding the brain, Beilenson said.

A 7-year-old Hamilton Elementary School pupil who received a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is in stable condition at the University of Maryland Medical Center, city Health Commissioner Dr. Peter L. Beilenson said yesterday. "He's doing well," Beilenson said. Over the weekend, the child became infected with neisseria meningitidis, a common form of bacterial meningitis, which is an infection of the fluid of the spinal cord and surrounding the brain, Beilenson said. Bacterial meningitis, which is contagious, can be severe and can cause brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability.

A 20-year-old student at the University of Maryland, College Park was admitted to Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham yesterday with symptoms of bacterial meningitis, according to a UM spokeswoman who said the case had not been confirmed but is "strongly suspected."The student, whose name was not released, lives in an off-campus fraternity house. About 15 students who had been in close contact with him have been given a preventive antibiotic.A vaccine is available to College Park students at the university's Health Center.

Anne Arundel County Public School officials said on Thursday the county Department of Health has not recommended additional cleaning steps to be taken amid the Tuesday death of a Glen Burnie High School junior, who had become ill the day before with symptoms associated with bacterial meningitis. School officials on Wednesday said that a letter was sent home to students' parents outlining the girl's death and providing information about bacterial meningitis. "The county Department of Health has not recommended any additional cleaning procedures for us outside of our normal daily cleaning procedures," said Anne Arundel schools spokesman Bob Mosier.

Pa. midshipman who died of infection is identified Frederick Henry Eissler, 20, a midshipman at the Naval Academy, died Monday of bacterial meningitis, according to a Naval Academy spokeswoman. Eissler, a first-year student from West Chester, Pa., who had attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School, fell ill last Wednesday. He is survived by his parents, Fred and Helene Eissler, and four younger sisters. Funeral services will be held at the Naval Academy Chapel at noon Friday. Bacterial meningitis can be spread through kissing, coughing or other close contact.

A 28-year-old inmate at the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore died Wednesday of bacterial meningitis, a form of the disease that state officials said yesterday does not present a health risk to prisoners or staff members. Officials identified the inmate as Tracey Shropshire, whose most recent address was in the 1700 block of N. Castle St. He was serving a 4 1/2 -year sentence for drug violations, court records show. Doctors at the prison, formerly the Maryland Penitentiary, determined that Shropshire died of streptococcal meningitis, which does not require antibiotic treatments for those who had contact with him, said David B. Towers, a Division of Correction spokesman.

A Towson University junior from Mount Airy, who had been inoculated against bacterial meningitis, died Thursday of the disease at Carroll County General Hospital, officials said yesterday. Erica Norton, 20, had phoned her father, George Norton, Thursday morning from her off-campus residence near the university and complained of flu-like symptoms. He drove to Towson, picked up his daughter and took her to the family's primary care physician in Mount Airy, her uncle, Jim Norton, said yesterday.

A fifth-grade teacher at Swansfield Elementary School was diagnosed this week with viral meningitis, a form of the illness far less serious and contagious than the bacterial meningitis that killed three Baltimore-area college students this year.Howard County health officials say the risk of contracting viral meningitis is slim compared with that of contracting bacterial meningitis and that it poses a far smaller risk to those who do get ill."It is usually not readily transmitted and it is not as dangerous," said Dr. Willa Brown of the Howard County Health Department.

A first-grader at Deep Run Elementary School in Elkridge was admitted this week to Johns Hopkins Hospital after becoming ill Monday with a suspected case of bacterial meningitis, the Howard County Health Department announced yesterday. The girl was taken to Howard County General Hospital's emergency room Tuesday and then transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where her condition was improving, authorities said. No other children or staff members were reported to have symptoms of meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis, a sometimes deadly brain infection, is on the increase this year across Maryland -- but health officials say they see no evidence of a rising epidemic. Since the beginning of the year, the state health department has recorded 13 cases of the disease, about twice the normal count. At this time last year, six cases had been recorded. "This year seems particularly bad compared to recent years," David Blythe, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said yesterday.