Professor diagnosed with bacterial meningitis

LAWRENCE -- A University of Kansas associate professor in the School of Education has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and is hospitalized in Kansas City, Mo. A full recovery is expected.

School and student health center officials are informing 25 of Professor Steven White's students today and are offering them preventive medication at the university's student health center. They are the only students with whom the professor met in the past 10 days and, therefore, may want to receive preventive medication. School staff and faculty who may have been in contact with the professor last week also are being informed.

However, unless the students or staff have been sick in the past week, they have little chance of still developing meningitis, said Dr. Myra Strother, chief of staff at KU's Watkins Student Health Center.

"We are taking every measure possible to inform any and all students and staff who may have had contact with the professor," said Angela Lumpkin, dean of education. "We want everyone to be well-informed and able to get preventive medication if they need it."

Health officials in Kansas City, Mo., will be notifying people the professor was in contact with outside of the university.

Bacterial, or meningococcal, meningitis is a severe infection of the bloodstream and lining of the brain and spinal cord. It usually occurs as a single isolated event, but clusters of cases are possible. Only people who have been in direct contact with an infected person need to be considered for preventive treatment.

Although most people exposed to the meningococcus germ do not become seriously ill, some may develop symptoms. These include fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and a rash. The symptoms appear usually within five days. Anyone who does not develop symptoms 10 days after contact with the professor is no longer at risk.

The professor teaches three classes at the Lawrence and Overland Park campuses but met with only the one Lawrence class last week because of the ice storm that canceled classes at the university for two days.

Students and staff can get more information about meningitis either online, by calling the center's health education line at (785) 864-9570 or by visiting the center in person. A brief recorded statement is available at (785) 864-8000.

What is 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. Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or bacterium is important because the severity of illness and the treatment differ. Viral meningitis is generally less severe and resolves without specific treatment, while bacterial meningitis can be quite severe and may result in brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability. For bacterial meningitis, it is also important to know which type of bacteria is causing the meningitis because antibiotics can prevent some types from spreading and infecting other people. Before the 1990s, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but new vaccines being given to all children as part of their routine immunizations have reduced the occurrence of invasive disease due to H. influenzae. Today, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis are the leading causes of bacterial meningitis.

What are the signs and symptoms of meningitis?
High fever, headache and stiff neck are common symptoms of meningitis in anyone over the age of 2 years. These symptoms can develop over several hours, or they may take one to two days. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, discomfort looking into bright lights, confusion and sleepiness.

In newborns and small infants, the classic symptoms of fever, headache and neck stiffness may be absent or difficult to detect, and the infant may appear slow or inactive, be irritable, vomit, or be feeding poorly. As the disease progresses, patients of any age may have seizures.

For additional information, consult:
Kansas Department of Health and Environment information sheet on meningitis.

Centers for Disease and Prevention Control Web site with information about meningitis.