8-Year-Old With Meningitis Dies

An 8-year-old student at Pio Pico Elementary School in Santa Ana died of bacterial meningitis Saturday at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange, school officials said Sunday.

Officials said the boy’s death over the weekend is the second from the disease in Orange County this month. The name of the child was not released.

“We’re grieved and very dismayed that this occurred,” said Al Mijares, superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Mijares said that he and Principal Judith Magsaysay would begin notifying parents of the 17 other students in the child’s class in case they need medical and emotional intervention. “The families will be alerted immediately because of the gravity of the situation. With a disease like this, time is of the essence,” he said.

“We’re obviously very shocked and disturbed. We have a responsibility to protect the welfare of our students,” he said.

Mijares said there were reports that another Pio Pico student was undergoing treatment for symptoms of meningitis this weekend.

Since bacterial meningitis can be spread through saliva, Mijares said he’s consulting with the county Health Care Agency about how to contain the disease.

“We have to take measures so we can protect the student body,” he said. “We’re also going to be working with the family to provide whatever assistance they need during this crisis.”

He suggests the other students in the classroom seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Mijares said counselors will be available at the school today for students who need to talk about the boy’s death.

In Cypress on Wednesday, Ashley Williams, 13, a junior high student, died of bacterial meningitis.

In Orange County this year, 21 cases of meningitis have been reported, with four deaths.

Meningococcal bacteria is fatal in only 10% to 15% of all cases. Symptoms of the disease include fever, vomiting, headache and stiff neck.

The disease causes inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord, most often caused by a bacterial or viral infection.