HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – Hampton school officials have confirmed a student attending Francis Asbury Elementary School passed away recently from meningitis.
The school principal sent a note to parents and said the child died from streptococcal group A meningitis.
Principal Liz Franks told families the parents of students in the affected classroom have been notified, and counselors are available to support students and staff if needed.
The note did not state the child’s age.
This form of meningitis is very uncommon, but can be very serious. It usually starts as an infection in upper respiratory tract. The bacteria can invade into the tissues and cause pneumonia or sepsis. Symptoms can include nausea, sudden high fever, severe headaches, vomiting, sensitivity to light, rash and neck stiffness. If you or your child has any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
The bacteria can be spread from the skin or throat. As in this case, school children and people living in close proximity to others are most susceptible. The best treatment is through immediate antibiotics.
Administrators say they cleaned the entire school building with hospital grade disinfectant to keep the bacteria from spreading.
Below is the full letter sent to Asbury Elementary School families:
Dear Asbury Fox families,
It is with great sadness that we share with you that one of our students has passed from streptococcal group A meningitis.
Please know the parents and guardians of the affected classroom have been directly notified and counselors will be in place to support students and staff as needed. It is not expected that teachers share this information with other students outside of the individual’s class. However, if a student is upset or asks questions about this loss, we have asked our staff to talk individually with the student and send any student to the counselor as appropriate.
Parents/guardians who would like additional support for their child should contact our main office at 757-850-5075 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
As we shared with our families last week, the risk of transmission of streptococcal group A meningitis within a classroom is considered low. Casual contact (as in work and school) rarely spreads the bacteria. As we also shared last week, as a precautionary measure and to minimize the risk of spreading germs, we implemented additional cleaning and disinfectant measures to our entire school building to include using hospital-grade disinfectant.
Symptoms of meningitis may include sudden high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and a rash. If you or your child has or does experience any of these symptoms, we strongly encourage you to seek prompt medical attention. Also, please inform the school nurse if your child has recently had strep throat, scarlet fever, or impetigo.
For your convenience, here is the link we provided last week that has additional information from the Virginia Department of Health on streptococcal (group A strep) – https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/streptococcus-disease-group-a/
As always, thank you for your continuous support.
Liz Franks, Principal
