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KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
QUOTE One reason for the unusually high number of cases could be more people suffering weakened immune systems due to the flu than in years past, Jonah said.
?Any other time, when they are healthy, it wouldn?t hurt them,? she said.
Meningitis victim shares ordeal as county grapples with spike in cases
BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Friday, Mar 7 2008 6:04 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 7 2008 5:54 PM
The spots where rashes used to be are fading on young Jose Flores? body.
Photos:
Jose Flores, 13, at the Kaiser Permanente facility on Stockdale Highway in early February. It was in this facility that medical personnel learned Jose was suffering from a meningococcal infection. (Photo courtesy of the Flores family)
He bounced around his northeast Bakersfield home Thursday, largely carefree, but only weeks ago the 13-year-old was lying in a Los Angeles hospital bed, his family and physicians hanging on every vital sign.
Jose is one of 16 people diagnosed with a meningococcal infection since December. The number is above average for the potentially deadly condition, caused by a bacteria people naturally carry, said interim Public Health Officer Dr. Claudia Jonah.
Most of the cases are meningococcal meningitis, which causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, Jonah said. The others are meningococcemia, an infection of the bloodstream.
Jose suffered both, according to his pediatrician Dr. Daniel Nguyen.
?I started getting really cold,? Jose said. ?My neck was really stiff, and I couldn?t move it.?
The bacteria responsible for these illnesses can be spread through oral and nasal secretions during close contact, Jonah said. One reason for the unusually high number of cases could be more people suffering weakened immune systems due to the flu than in years past, Jonah said.
?Any other time, when they are healthy, it wouldn?t hurt them,? she said.
No one has died from the infection, Jonah said. Victims range in ages from 1 to 72. The Public Health Services Department first alerted the public to the cases in late January, when the tally was at 10.
The six most recent diagnoses are all individual cases, which means they aren?t part of a larger outbreak, Jonah said.
?We?re just having an unusual year,? said Donna Nighbert, an infection control nurse with Kern County?s Kaiser Permanente, which has seen three of the cases.
THE SCHOOLS
Jose is one of three students in the Standard School District to be sickened by the infection.
The Public Health Services Department notified the school district of the cases the afternoon of Feb. 28, and the district sent two letters home with students the next day, said Superintendent Kevin Silberberg. One letter, from the Public Health Services Department, gave the basics of the infection, told parents to be on alert for symptoms and assured them that the risk of infection from contact during school activities is very low. It also said, in bold and underlined type, that no information indicates that these cases are related to school attendance.
The other letter was from Silberberg. While it doesn?t look like school was a factor, the district is still taking precautions to limit any spreading of disease, he said Friday.
?We of course don?t want kids kissing on a middle school campus,? he said. ?We?ve really come down on anything like sharing food, drinks, water bottles.?
The teachers were also instructed on what an infection does and how to prevent it, he said.
JOSE'S STORY
Jose?s mother, Renee Flores, picked him up from school Feb. 6 because he felt sick. She later took him to the Kaiser Permanente urgent care in Bakersfield.
By that night, his head throbbed, he felt lethargic and bruise-like rashes popped up all over his body. Jose also started hallucinating.
?He kept saying something about a black cat,? his mother said. ?He was not coherent.?
The next events unfolded very quickly, they said.
He was diagnosed with the infection. He went to Kern Medical Center and then was taken by air ambulance to the Kasier Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.
?We were sitting there and begging them to answer, ?Is he going to be OK??? Renee said. ?And they said, ?We can?t tell you.??
The death rate ranges from 5 percent to 15 percent, with young children and adults older than 50 having the highest risk of death, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Jose was treated with antibiotics; the family was also given antibiotics as a precaution.
After the first couple of days in the hospital, he began improving and was discharged Feb. 13. Jose went back to school Feb. 29. His energy isn?t what is was before the ordeal, and he will have to be monitored for hearing loss and other brain conditions.
?It?s pretty aggressive and fast,? Nguyen said of the infection. ?Jose was really lucky.?
About meningococcal infections
The infection can develop rapidly and start with an upper respiratory infection or sore throat, developing into high fever, severe headache, severe malaise, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and changes in mental status. It also produces a bruise-like rash.
Possible complications include brain damage, shock, inflammation of the heart, deafness, paralysis and mental retardation.
To avoid getting ill, interim Public Health Officer Dr. Claudia Jonah urged people to wash hands often, maintain good hygiene and avoid contact with people suffering from respiratory illness.
Also, do not drink or eat from the same cups and utensils after anyone else or share toothbrushes or cigarettes.
If someone thinks they might have a meningococcal infection, they should seek medical care immediately, and call the doctor?s office, hospital or urgent care clinic ahead of time so it can prepare. Also, children over age 11 should get a meningococcal vaccine, said pediatrician Dr. Daniel Nguyen.
QUOTE One reason for the unusually high number of cases could be more people suffering weakened immune systems due to the flu than in years past, Jonah said.
?Any other time, when they are healthy, it wouldn?t hurt them,? she said.
Meningitis victim shares ordeal as county grapples with spike in cases
BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Friday, Mar 7 2008 6:04 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 7 2008 5:54 PM
The spots where rashes used to be are fading on young Jose Flores? body.
Photos:
Jose Flores, 13, at the Kaiser Permanente facility on Stockdale Highway in early February. It was in this facility that medical personnel learned Jose was suffering from a meningococcal infection. (Photo courtesy of the Flores family)
He bounced around his northeast Bakersfield home Thursday, largely carefree, but only weeks ago the 13-year-old was lying in a Los Angeles hospital bed, his family and physicians hanging on every vital sign.
Jose is one of 16 people diagnosed with a meningococcal infection since December. The number is above average for the potentially deadly condition, caused by a bacteria people naturally carry, said interim Public Health Officer Dr. Claudia Jonah.
Most of the cases are meningococcal meningitis, which causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, Jonah said. The others are meningococcemia, an infection of the bloodstream.
Jose suffered both, according to his pediatrician Dr. Daniel Nguyen.
?I started getting really cold,? Jose said. ?My neck was really stiff, and I couldn?t move it.?
The bacteria responsible for these illnesses can be spread through oral and nasal secretions during close contact, Jonah said. One reason for the unusually high number of cases could be more people suffering weakened immune systems due to the flu than in years past, Jonah said.
?Any other time, when they are healthy, it wouldn?t hurt them,? she said.
No one has died from the infection, Jonah said. Victims range in ages from 1 to 72. The Public Health Services Department first alerted the public to the cases in late January, when the tally was at 10.
The six most recent diagnoses are all individual cases, which means they aren?t part of a larger outbreak, Jonah said.
?We?re just having an unusual year,? said Donna Nighbert, an infection control nurse with Kern County?s Kaiser Permanente, which has seen three of the cases.
THE SCHOOLS
Jose is one of three students in the Standard School District to be sickened by the infection.
The Public Health Services Department notified the school district of the cases the afternoon of Feb. 28, and the district sent two letters home with students the next day, said Superintendent Kevin Silberberg. One letter, from the Public Health Services Department, gave the basics of the infection, told parents to be on alert for symptoms and assured them that the risk of infection from contact during school activities is very low. It also said, in bold and underlined type, that no information indicates that these cases are related to school attendance.
The other letter was from Silberberg. While it doesn?t look like school was a factor, the district is still taking precautions to limit any spreading of disease, he said Friday.
?We of course don?t want kids kissing on a middle school campus,? he said. ?We?ve really come down on anything like sharing food, drinks, water bottles.?
The teachers were also instructed on what an infection does and how to prevent it, he said.
JOSE'S STORY
Jose?s mother, Renee Flores, picked him up from school Feb. 6 because he felt sick. She later took him to the Kaiser Permanente urgent care in Bakersfield.
By that night, his head throbbed, he felt lethargic and bruise-like rashes popped up all over his body. Jose also started hallucinating.
?He kept saying something about a black cat,? his mother said. ?He was not coherent.?
The next events unfolded very quickly, they said.
He was diagnosed with the infection. He went to Kern Medical Center and then was taken by air ambulance to the Kasier Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.
?We were sitting there and begging them to answer, ?Is he going to be OK??? Renee said. ?And they said, ?We can?t tell you.??
The death rate ranges from 5 percent to 15 percent, with young children and adults older than 50 having the highest risk of death, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Jose was treated with antibiotics; the family was also given antibiotics as a precaution.
After the first couple of days in the hospital, he began improving and was discharged Feb. 13. Jose went back to school Feb. 29. His energy isn?t what is was before the ordeal, and he will have to be monitored for hearing loss and other brain conditions.
?It?s pretty aggressive and fast,? Nguyen said of the infection. ?Jose was really lucky.?
About meningococcal infections
The infection can develop rapidly and start with an upper respiratory infection or sore throat, developing into high fever, severe headache, severe malaise, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and changes in mental status. It also produces a bruise-like rash.
Possible complications include brain damage, shock, inflammation of the heart, deafness, paralysis and mental retardation.
To avoid getting ill, interim Public Health Officer Dr. Claudia Jonah urged people to wash hands often, maintain good hygiene and avoid contact with people suffering from respiratory illness.
Also, do not drink or eat from the same cups and utensils after anyone else or share toothbrushes or cigarettes.
If someone thinks they might have a meningococcal infection, they should seek medical care immediately, and call the doctor?s office, hospital or urgent care clinic ahead of time so it can prepare. Also, children over age 11 should get a meningococcal vaccine, said pediatrician Dr. Daniel Nguyen.