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Source: http://www.lancastereaglegazette.co...h-department-verifies-meningitis-case-at-OU-L
County health department verifies meningitis case at OU-L
BY MICHELLE GEORGE ? The Eagle-Gazette Staff ? July 1, 2009
LANCASTER - The second-confirmed case of viral meningitis in Fairfield County this year has prompted officials at the Ohio University Lancaster Campus to put students on alert for symptoms of the virus.
The Fairfield Department of Health confirmed Tuesday that a OU-L student has been diagnosed with viral meningitis. University officials notified faculty, staff and students via e-mail the diagnosis after being contacted Tuesday by the Health Department.
The student's name has not been released.
A Lancaster High School student had the first confirmed case of viral meningitis this year. OU-L Communications Coordinator Jenny LaRue said this is the first time she can recall a case of viral meningitis at the university.
Students are advised to be aware of symptoms - fever, headache, lack of appetite, stomach pain and nausea - associated with meningitis. Students with these symptoms should seek medical attention, according to an OU-L news release.
"The disease is not nearly as contagious as bacterial meningitis, and usually it takes about seven to 10 days for a person to recover," said Diana Stover, communicable disease nurse at the Fairfield Department of Health.
Viral meningitis is a serious, but rarely fatal virus, that is passed through direct or indirect contact with respiratory secretions of an infected person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes kissing, shaking hands or sharing something such as a cup or water bottle with an infected person.
The disease also can spread through direct contact with a person's stool, such as when a parent is changing the diaper of an infected child, according to the CDC.
The symptoms are similar to that of bacterial meningitis, a more severe form of the virus that can result in brain damage, hearing loss or a learning disability.
Stover said typically one of every 1,000 people actually develop the virus. Their is no specific treatment, according to the CDC.
County health department verifies meningitis case at OU-L
BY MICHELLE GEORGE ? The Eagle-Gazette Staff ? July 1, 2009
LANCASTER - The second-confirmed case of viral meningitis in Fairfield County this year has prompted officials at the Ohio University Lancaster Campus to put students on alert for symptoms of the virus.
The Fairfield Department of Health confirmed Tuesday that a OU-L student has been diagnosed with viral meningitis. University officials notified faculty, staff and students via e-mail the diagnosis after being contacted Tuesday by the Health Department.
The student's name has not been released.
A Lancaster High School student had the first confirmed case of viral meningitis this year. OU-L Communications Coordinator Jenny LaRue said this is the first time she can recall a case of viral meningitis at the university.
Students are advised to be aware of symptoms - fever, headache, lack of appetite, stomach pain and nausea - associated with meningitis. Students with these symptoms should seek medical attention, according to an OU-L news release.
"The disease is not nearly as contagious as bacterial meningitis, and usually it takes about seven to 10 days for a person to recover," said Diana Stover, communicable disease nurse at the Fairfield Department of Health.
Viral meningitis is a serious, but rarely fatal virus, that is passed through direct or indirect contact with respiratory secretions of an infected person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes kissing, shaking hands or sharing something such as a cup or water bottle with an infected person.
The disease also can spread through direct contact with a person's stool, such as when a parent is changing the diaper of an infected child, according to the CDC.
The symptoms are similar to that of bacterial meningitis, a more severe form of the virus that can result in brain damage, hearing loss or a learning disability.
Stover said typically one of every 1,000 people actually develop the virus. Their is no specific treatment, according to the CDC.