|
Laboratory technician Ruth Rutledge packages cerebrospinal fluid of the three confirmed meningitis cases in Minn., to send to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing, at the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. The number of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak has now reached 119 cases, including 11 deaths, according to the CDC. The states involved in the outbreak are Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey and Ohio. Officials have tied the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis to steroid shots for back pain. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien) (November 14, 2012) |
WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — An 8-year-old boy in the Grand Rapids area has died, a likely victim of bacterial meningitis.
Ethan Giang died suddenly Thursday. St. John Vianney School in Wyoming told parents that bacterial meningitis is not considered contagious like a cold or flu. Principal Gregg Bruno says he wants to "convey fact and dispel fear."
Nonetheless, Mlive.com (http://bit.ly/15nXKFi) reports that the school was scrubbed after Ethan's death. The third-grader's funeral Mass is scheduled for Monday at St. John Vianney Catholic Church.
High fever, a headache and a stiff neck are symptoms of bacterial meningitis.
___
Information from: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids
