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NORTH MANCHESTER - Bacterial meningitis caused the death of 17-year-old North Manchester boy, Jared Airgood, Wabash County health officer, Dr. Dean Gifford said.
Airgood tested positive for neisseria, the bacteria most commonly responsible for the disease. The bacteria is transmitted through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, through activities such as kissing, sharing drinks and cigarettes. Casual contact with a person affected should not be enough to transmit the bacteria, Wabash County Health nurse, Jane Skeans said.
Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include fever, headache, sore throat, stiff neck and seizures. All or few symptoms may be present in meningitis cases, and treatment should be sought immediately if a person believes they are at risk of the disease. Symptoms may develop suddenly or gradually accumulate over a period of one to two days.
Meningitis is treatable by antibiotics in more than 95 percent of cases, if caught immediately. When treatment is not obtained until later stages, up to 15 percent of those affected die and more may suffer irreparable brain and nervous system damage.
"Most people don't go see a doctor, that's what really creates a problem," Skeans said.
Airgood died Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne from respiratory distress caused by the illness.
A second reported case of meningitis in Wabash County is purely a rumor, Gifford said. All co-workers of Airgood are, at this time, unaffected by the illness and Pizza Hut continues operations as normal.
