Challenger Elementary Parents Warned Of Bacterial Meningitis Case In School

TAMARAC (CBSMiami) – Parents at Challenger Elementary School in Tamarac were notified Monday that a case of the potentially deadly bacterial meningitis was reported at the school.

The case of bacterial meningitis at Challenger wasn't fatal and is actually the 26th reported case of bacterial meningitis this year in Broward County.

The reported case is the latest in a string of cases across South Florida in recent weeks.

On October 12, Coral Reef Senior High School was put on alert after student Christopher Valdes, 18, died after he came down with the disease. Last week, Bryant De La Cruz died after he contracted bacterial meningitis as well.

Both Valdes and De La Cruz saw their conditions deteriorate rapidly after initial symptoms began to appear.

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include: high fever, chills, tired, intense headaches, nausea, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and spine and a rash.

The disease is typically spread through direct contact with nasal or throat secretions from the infected person and the disease takes anywhere from 2 to 10 days to incubate.

The CDC says that most of the bacteria that cause meningitis are not as contagious as diseases like the common cold or the flu and that bacterial meningitis isn't spread by simply breathing the air where an infected person has been.

Parents were warned that if their children showed any of the symptoms to take them to a doctor immediately. In addition, students with the symptoms will be held out of school and must get a letter from a doctor saying they are not contagious before being allowed to return to school.