5-year-old dies in possible case of bacterial meningitis

18 March 2019, Saxony, Radeberg: A paediatrician examines a one-year-old girl with a stethoscope as part of a paediatric vaccination against meningococcus. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via G

Montgomery County Public Health District is investigating the death of a 5-year-old boy as a suspected case of bacterial meningitis.

On December 30, 2019, at Express Family Clinic located in Spring, there was a suspected case of bacterial meningitis in a pediatric patient, which was later confirmed by the local health department.

Anyone who was present at this clinic between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on December 30 and feels that any of the symptoms described below apply, please call our office at 281-742-0624 during regular business hours or visit your local emergency room.

The most common symptoms of bacterial meningitis are high fever, headache, and stiff neck. However, these are not the only symptoms and the infection can present differently in each patient. Bacterial Meningitis can be spread to others, but the risk of being infected can be lowered by taking preventive antibiotics. Only individuals who had close personal contact with the infected patient need to be treated.