Hamilton County teacher diagnosed with meningitis

Snow Hill Elementary School

Students at Snow Hill Elementary School have been given precautionary antibiotics after a teacher there was diagnosed Thursday with bacterial meningitis, public health officials said.

By Friday, all people with "close and prolonged contact" with the teacher were identified, and all will be given antibiotic treatments, said Dr. Valerie Boaz, health officer with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.

"The chances of catching bacterial meningitis from an infected person are low," Boaz said. "However, because of the potential seriousness of this illness, we want to take every precautionary step we can by providing protective treatment to all close contacts."

Bacterial meningitis can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord or a serious blood infection. Symptoms include onset of fever, intense headache, nausea and often vomiting, stiff neck and, frequently, rash.

The illness is spread through the exchange of respiratory droplets. Usually, that means someone has been within coughing or sneezing distance from an infected person for more than a few hours, Boaz explained.

She declined to provide information about where the teacher may have contracted the illness, or how long she may have been teaching before she was diagnosed. Symptoms can develop one to 10 days after exposure.

The health department has recorded only a small number of bacterial meningitis cases over the last several years, at an average rate of 0.3 per 100,000, Boaz said.

So far, no one else in the county has been diagnosed with meningitis in relation to this case, but the health department is working with the Hamilton County Department of Education and to monitor the situation, Boaz said.

"This is a serious disease, but there is treatment for it," she said.

Contact staff writer Kate Belz at kbelz@timesfreepress.comor 423-757-6673.