BERKELEY
(AP) -- A 9-year-old Berkeley girl died Tuesday morning of bacterial
meningitis, Berkeley Public Health Department officials said.
The girl,
a student of Oxford School in the Berkeley Unified School District,
died at about 7 a.m. at Children's Hospital in Oakland. Officials
said she came down with symptoms of headache, sore throat and
fever on Friday. She did not see a doctor.
When her mother
checked on her Tuesday morning, the girl did not respond.
Meningitis
is an infection of the fluid that surrounds the brain and the
spinal cord.
Health Department
spokeswoman Poki Namkung said that direct contact, usually through
saliva or blood, is necessary to contract the disease. Namkung
stressed that there is no outbreak of the disease according to
the state epidemiological analysis.
She said that
there are approximately 200 to 300 cases of meningitis in the
state every year. In the past five years, only four cases of meningococcal
infection have been reported in Berkeley.
Health officials
are setting up a clinic at Oxford School for those who think they
may have come in direct contact with the girl. Oxford School teachers
will also be calling the families of children who may have come
in contact with her.
Anyone experiencing
symptoms of meningitis, including nausea, vomiting, fever, rash,
headache and sore throat, should see a physician immediately.
Officials
don't think there's any connection between Tuesday's death and
the recent death of a Livermore High School student.
Classes will
continue at Oxford School tomorrow.
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