Massapequa HS student dies of Bacterial Meningitis....**update** 27 year old queens woman also dies......

He worked at the king kullen in massapequa park. Fox news just said if anyone thinks they have been in contact with him please see your doctor....so if anyone shops there and remembers being helped by a 17 year old kid..get checked out it is highly contageous!

He also played on the basketball team

just looking out for my girls!

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Posted by loislane

That is so sad! How horrible! Was it bacterial or viral?

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bacterial.......maybe i should ad that to my OP

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Posted by Luvbsb4eva

Thanks so much! I kinda freaked out when I saw your message! I know my mom shops in King Kullen too!

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Im sorry!

Here is what was posted on the Massapequa school district website:

January 24, 2008

Dear Staff/Parent/Guardian:

The Nassau County Department of Health has notified me that they received a report that a
student at Massapequa High School’s Main Campus has been diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis. Enclosed is an information sheet from the New York State Department of Health regarding this disease. Please refer to bullet 3 on the first page of the enclosure and the last bullet on the second page which addresses how the germ is spread and how you can obtain additional information.

Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection of the bloodstream or meninges (a thin
lining covering the brain and spinal cord) caused by the meningococcus germ, which is spread
by direct close contact with nose or throat discharges of an infected person. Symptoms can
include high fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and rash and appear most often within five
days after exposure, but can appear anytime between two and ten days.

Any individual identified as having shared food, drink, eating utensils or a beverage container, or
exchanged oral secretions or had any similar exposure with the individual within 10 days prior to
January 23, 2008 should contact their private physician immediately to receive prophylactic
treatment. The risk for close contacts to the individual (as defined above) is greatest during the week following their exposure. Therefore, prophylaxis should be administered as soon as possible.

Prophylactic treatment administered greater than 14 days after exposure to the individual is,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices, of limited or no value. Casual contact, as might occur in a regular
classroom, office or factory setting, is not usually significant enough to cause concern. Individuals who feel they have symptoms suggestive of the disease should contact their physician
immediately and advise them that meningococcal meningitis has been diagnosed in the school.

I have also enclosed New York State Department of Health’s Fact Sheet on meningococcal
disease. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your school nurse at the
following schools:

Birch Lane – 797-6014
East Lake – 797-6024
Fairfield – 797-6034
Lockhart – 797-6054
McKenna – 797-6044
Unqua – 797-6064
Berner – 797-6093
Ames Campus – 797-3342
Massapequa HS Main Campus – 797-6140

Sincerely,
Charles V. Sulc
Acting Superintendent
CVS/nz

Alot of my brother's friends work at King Kullen too... I hope that it is only this one isolated incident. My prayers are with his family.

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Posted by Luvbsb4eva

Alot of my brother's friends work at King Kullen too... I hope that it is only this one isolated incident. My prayers are with his family.

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definatly! my thoguhts are with them as well! he was so young!

Here's something else they had posted about Meningitis:

New York State Department of Health
Meningococcal Disease
Last Reviewed: November 2006

What is meningococcal disease?
Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection of the bloodstream or meninges (a thin lining covering
the brain and spinal cord) caused by the meningococcus germ.

Who gets meningococcal disease?
Anyone can get meningococcal disease, but it is more common in infants and children. For some adolescents, such as first-year college students living in dormitories, there is an increased risk of meningococcal disease. Every year in the United States approximately 2,500 people are infected and 300 die from the disease. Other persons at increased risk include household contacts of a person known to have had this disease,
immunocompromised people, and people traveling to parts of the world where meningococcal meningitis is prevalent.

How is the meningococcus germ spread?
The meningococcus germ is spread by direct close contact with nose or throat discharges of an infected person.

What are the symptoms?
High fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and a rash are symptoms of meningococcal disease. The symptoms may appear two to 10 days after exposure, but usually within five days. Among people who develop meningococcal disease, 10 to 15 percent die, in spite of treatment with antibiotics. Of those who live, permanent brain damage, hearing loss, kidney failure, loss of arms or legs, or chronic nervous system
problems can occur.

What is the treatment for meningococcal disease?
Antibiotics, such as penicillin G or ceftriaxone, can be used to treat people with meningococcal disease.

Should people who have been in contact with a diagnosed case of meningococcal
meningitis be treated?
Only people who have been in close contact (household members, intimate contacts, health care personnel performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, daycare center playmates, etc.) need to be considered for preventive treatment. Such people are usually advised to obtain a prescription for a special antibiotic (either
rifampin, ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone) from their physician. Casual contact, as might occur in a regular classroom, office or factory setting, is not usually significant enough to cause concern.

Is there a vaccine to prevent meningococcal meningitis?
In February 2005 the CDC recommended a new vaccine, known as Menactra™, for use to prevent
meningococcal disease in people 11 to 55 years of age. The previously licensed version of this vaccine, Menomune™, is available for children two to 10 years old and adults older than 55 years. Both vaccines are 85 to 100 percent effective in preventing the four kinds of the meningococcus germ (types A, C, Y, W-135).
These four types cause about 70 percent of the disease in the United States. Because the vaccines do not include type B, which accounts for about one-third of cases in adolescents, they do not prevent all cases of meningococcal disease.

Is the vaccine safe? Are there adverse side effects to the vaccine?
Both vaccines are currently available and both are safe and effective vaccines. However, both vaccines may cause mild and infrequent side effects, such as redness and pain at the injection site lasting up to two days.

Who should get the meningococcal vaccine?
The vaccine is recommended for all adolescents entering middle school (11 to 12 years old) and high school (15 years old), and all first-year college students living in dormitories. However, the vaccine will benefit all teenagers and young adults in the United States. Also at increased risk are people with terminal complement
deficiencies or asplenia, some laboratory workers and travelers to endemic areas of the world.

What is the duration of protection from the vaccine?
Menomune™, the older vaccine, requires booster doses every three to five years. Although research is still pending, the new vaccine, Menactra™, will probably not require booster doses.

How do I get more information about meningococcal disease and vaccination?
Contact your physician or your student health service. Additional information is also available on the Web sites of the New York State Department of Health, www.nyhealth.gov; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/index.htm; and the American College Health Association,
www.acha.org.
Revised: July 2005

Wow this is so scary. When I was in 9th grade I was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis, I almost died. It started off as a toothache and then turned into a headache. I went to my doctor and they took a strep culture and said I was fine. Then the next day I woke up and my headache was still bad and my left eye was swollen as if someone punched me. I went back to my doctor and they told me I had to go to the hospital. I was in the hospital for a week and a half or two weeks I'm not sure. It was a very terrible experience. The medicines weren't working, then they were going to try an experimental medicine but thankfully the other medicine started to work. Turns out I did have strep and I think that lead to the meningitis.

I had a spinal tap done, and an MRI, and also had surgery to drain my sinuses. I also had orbital celulitis. I didn't think that bacterial meningitis was contagious but it can be treated with medicine and it is very dangerous. That is so sad that he died...I can relate to this disease though. Just wanted to let everyone know. They also have a vaccine for this now.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-limeni0125,0,4301256.story

This is so sad and it is scary. Unfortunately it spreads so fast that some people don't have that serve of symptoms and it being cold and flu season they dont think to go to the doctor for it.

I work in Amityville and we received a message on our company machine about -- i wonder if they are calling all local area companies?

omg that is so sad and scary

I think your brother should get checked anyways....
Alls it took was for this kid to wipe his nose and shake hands with someone else and so on and so forth......
Its spread very easily...
So maybe your mom and everyone else in the household should get checked out as well...
Better safe than sorry!