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To: Area News Media
From: James Ryder, Director
Date: April 25, 2002
Re: Reported case of meningococcal disease
The Eau Claire City-County Health Department received a report yesterday,
April 24, 2002 that a young woman was admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital with
meningococcal disease. The woman is a student at Chippewa Valley Technical
College.
The Health Department has already been in contact with the friends and family
of the individual. People who are close contacts have been identified by
interviews and referred to their private physicians for preventive treatment.
The Health Department is working in close cooperation with the state Division
of Public Health, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and Chippewa Valley
Technical College. The investigation is ongoing, but at this time no link has
been identified between this case and the case reported earlier this week in a
UWEC student.
Meningococcal disease is caused by a bacterium that can produce infection of
a person's bloodstream, spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. The
symptoms of illness can vary widely and may include fever, headache, vomiting,
stiff neck, and a rash.
Disease from this organism is rare; in fact, people can have the bacterium in
their nose and throat and never develop any illness while others may develop
serious symptoms. In Wisconsin, 40 to 60 cases of meningococcal disease are
reported annually, according to epidemiologist Tom Haupt of the Wisconsin
Division of Public Health.
The bacterium is spread by intimate or direct contact with saliva and
respiratory secretions. Direct contact includes exposures such as:
- sharing eating or drinking utensils,
- sharing water bottles,
- kissing,
- sharing a cigarette, or
- household contacts.
Only people who have been in close contact need to be considered for
preventive antibiotic treatment. Casual contact, as might occur in a regular
classroom, office, or workplace, is not usually significant enough to warrant
treatment.
News Bureau
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: April 25, 2002
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