A teacher at a high school in Colorado died from symptoms consistent with bacterial meningitis, officials said.
In a letter sent to parents and obtained by Scripps News Denver, the Cherry Creek School District identified the Eaglecrest High School teacher as Maddie Schmidt.
The district said it is working with the Arapahoe County Public Health Department, which would be reaching out to school staff and families of students who might have been in close contact with the teacher.
"The school and district have assisted ACPH in contact tracing to determine what students or staff members have been in close contact with the infected person. ACPH is in the process of notifying close contacts and will offer guidance about how to get preventative antibiotics for students and staff determined by ACPH to have been in close contact," the letter to parents read.
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Eaglecrest called off some athletics and activities this week and canceled classes on Wednesday to allow the district to continue contact tracing.
Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord and is potentially serious or fatal, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can be spread through contact with saliva or respiratory secretions, health officials say.
As of Friday, no other cases of suspected bacterial meningitis had been announced by Colorado health officials.
Scripps News Denver contributed to this story.
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