HAMPTON, Va. — A Francis Asbury Elementary School student died from meningitis, according to the school's principal.
The child had group A strep meningitis, according to Principal Liz Franks' statement.
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Franks informed Asbury Elementary families of the student's death on Monday night. The message that was shared with families is as follows:
Dear Asbury Fox families,
It is with great sadness that we share with you that one of our students has passed from streptococcalgroup A meningitis.
Please know the parents and guardians of the affected classroom have been directly notified and counselors will be in place to support students and staff as needed. It is not expected that teachers share this information with other students outside of the individual’s class. However, if a student is upset or asks questions about this loss, we have asked our staff to talk individually with the student and send any student to the counselor as appropriate.
Parents/guardians who would like additional support for their child should contact our main office at 757-850-5075 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
As we shared with our families last week, the risk of transmission of streptococcal group A meningitis within a classroom is considered low. Casual contact (as in work and school) rarely spreads the bacteria. As we also shared last week, as a precautionary measure and to minimize the risk of spreading germs, we implemented additional cleaning and disinfectant measures to our entire school building to include using hospital-grade disinfectant.
Symptoms of meningitis may include sudden high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and a rash. If you or your child has or does experience any of these symptoms, we strongly encourage you to seek prompt medical attention. Also, please inform the school nurse if your child has recently had strep throat, scarlet fever, or impetigo.
For your convenience, here is the link we provided last week that has additional information from the Virginia Department of Health on streptococcal (group A strep) - https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/streptococcus-disease-group-a/ [vdh.virginia.gov]
As always, thank you for your continuous support.
Sincerely,
Liz Franks
Principal
CHKD Pediatrician Dr. Douglas Mitchell tells News 3 group A strep meningitis is rare. According to Dr. Mitchell, meningitis is an infection or inflammation of the meninges around the brain.
Symptons include headache, fever, bright light sensitivity, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck.
“That’s one of the tell-tale signs is the child is not able to bring their neck down to their chest at all, they stay stiff and don’t want to move their neck at all,” said Dr. Mitchell.
Dr. Mitchell said there are several causes of meningitis to include parasites, fungus, viruses, and bacteria. Bacterial meningitis can be spread through close contact, like sharing drinks or a straw or kissing.
“Hygiene is always important particularly as we look at hand washing, because we talk about close contact, these bacteria can persist for a period of time on hands, good hand washing is always a good idea,” said Mitchell.
There are several vaccines out there to protect against meningitis, including the meningoccocal vaccine, given at age 11. It's required by Virginia schools before 7th grade, and it's given again at age 16. It protects against four strains.
According to Dr. Mitchell, there's another vaccine that protects against a fifth strain given in young adulthood, aimed towards college aged students.
Dr. Mitchell said there is no vaccine for group A strep meningitis, which is what the Hampton child died from.
