Health officials in Oologah are scrambling to stop an outbreak of Meningitis. They’ve begun treating residents to prevent the bacteria from spreading. This, as several children remain hospitalized, including a six-year-old who is still in a coma. Fox 23’s Douglas Clark has the latest.
They held a clinic today at the Rogers County Health Department to treat the people who have come into close contact with the seven Meningitis patients.
Health officials say the bacterial Meningitis sweeping through Oologah schools is the more rare and more dangerous form of the illness. It’s already stricken seven people and claimed the lives of two elementary children.
“It does not live on surfaces very long. It is airborne if you’re close to the other person and the person coughs or sneezes in your face,” says Rogers County Health Department Administrator Mary Beth Murray.
School administrator Cindy Deitz came into close contact with senior Karisa Pales, the seventh person in Oologah to be diagnosed with Meningitis. Karisa, along with several other students, remains at St. Francis Hospital.
“Karisa and I see each other every day,” says Deitz. “We sit and each lunch and visit every day. That’s why I’m here today.”
She came to the Rogers County clinic to get a free Meningitis antibiotic and says she’ll have her family doctor inoculate her kids, who go to the school.
“It’s scary. It’s really scary. We’ve never seen anything like this before. They say it’s very unusual,” says Deitz.
Health officials will be at school Friday and Saturday administering the Meningitis vaccine. But that’s too late according to grandmother Joyce Taylor, who wants to know why more wasn’t done last week when the bacteria was discovered.
“I wanted to be safe. I wound up taking him to the doctor and getting him the shot anyway,” says Taylor.
Meanwhile, school administrators are fumigating the school and the buses. Health officials say Meningitis only lives on surfaces for a few minutes. But everything inside the schools and buses is being sterilized just in case.
School is out on spring break this week and some parents are still worried about sending their kids back next week.
“I feel a little better, but not a whole lot. Where did it come from? What are they doing to find it?” asks Taylor.
People that are ill with Meningitis will have fever, intense headache, nausea, vomiting, and a stiff neck. It is important to see your doctor as soon as possible if these symptoms appear.
