Claremore Daily Progress

Mobile

Related Photos

  • An outbreak of meningitis at Oologah-Talala Schools that took the lives of two elementary students and infected four other students has caused the district to cancel classes for Friday. The school will remain closed next week in observance of spring break. Krystal J. Carman

    lowerelementary.jpg
March 13, 2010

Source of meningitis outbreak still under investigation

Krystal J. Carman Staff Writer

CLAREMORE — Rogers County Health Department officials said Thursday they would try to find the source of Thursday's outbreak of meningitis at Oologah-Talala Lower Elementary School. But state health department officials say it's not going to be easy.

"There's not really a source," Oklahoma State Health Department spokesman Larry Weatherford said. "The disease exists in the environment. It's not like E. coli where you can pinpoint where it came from. It's not a disease that is easily pinned down.

"We can't just say it comes from the water or eating food from another country."

So far, officials are reporting the disease has claimed the lives of 7-year-old Andrew Thomas and 8-year-old Shuache Moua. Four other lower elementary students have been hospitalized, including a 6-year-old child.

A "handful" of children presenting symptoms of meningitis showed up at the emergency room at St. John Hospital in Owasso on Thursday. Two of those children were transported to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, according to Joy McGill with the community relations department at St. John Hospital in Tulsa.

McGill added that no children were seen with symptoms of meningitis on Friday.

The focus at Oologah-Talala Schools is to diagnose any children, faculty or staff that may

have contracted the disease.

"Our focus remains on identifying the direct contacts who may be ill," Weatherford said.

"That's the most important thing."

Being in close quarters such as a classroom with small children who may cough and sneeze would give the perception that spreading meningitis is as easy as spreading the common cold or the flu.

"The classroom is the perfect scenario for the spread of influenza, but not the spread of

meningococcal disease," Weatherford said. "This spread is very unusual. It has produced a high level of anxiety among the community.

"You can't get it by going to a meeting or a class with someone who has it," Weather ford said. "A lot of people get meningitis and other members of the family don't. This outbreak is very unusual."

The state health department reports that 90 percent of viral meningitis cases come from a group of common intestinal viruses called enteroviruses. These are typically spread from person-to-person through direct or indirect contact with fecal material, usually on unclean hands or contaminated environmental items.

Viruses can be passed about three days after a person becomes infected until 10 days after symptoms occur.

Bacterial meningitis can be caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus species or Neisseria meningitis, which are spread by direct contact with saliva or respiratory droplets from the nose and throat of an infected person.

The antibiotics that were given at the gymnasium on Thursday and Friday were being administered as a preventive measure to persons exposed to the students with meningitis.

Dr. Sam Stauffer, an Oologah physician, said Thursday that diagnosing meningitis is typically done through blood tests and performing laboratory tests on spinal fluid.

Weatherford said the state health department has an adequate supply of the antibiotics Rocephin and Rifampin to treat all of those who are in direct contact with the students who were hospitalized for meningitis.

"Yesterday our department brought enough to treat 1,000 people," he said. "On Thursday, 640 were given the antibiotic.

We won't know how many were treated on Friday until the clinic closes." The clinic, being held at the lower elementary gymnasium, administered the antibiotics until 8 p.m. on Thursday

and reopened from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Text Only
Mobile
  • obamaweb.jpg Obama budget predicts $1.3T deficit for 2012

    The White House on Friday confirmed a report that President Barack Obama’s new budget predicts a $1.3 trillion deficit for the ongoing fiscal year. The deficit would drop to $901 billion next year under the administration’s tax and spending policies.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • RSU takes down NWOSU

    The Rogers State University men’s basketball team swept the regular season series over Northwestern Oklahoma State with an 85-78 victory Thursday night in Sooner Athletic Conference action at Percefull Fieldhouse.
    RSU took a five-point lead with 2:30 minutes to play thanks to a jumper by Kendrell Thompson and two made free throws by Meneptha Darden.

    February 10, 2012

  • Lady ‘Cats fall on the road

    The Rogers State women’s basketball team fell short on Thursday evening as Northwestern Oklahoma State registered a 68-65 victory over the Hillcats at Percefull Fieldhouse.
     
    The Hillcats got the last look as Leah Smith shot a trey from the corner at the buzzer however, the shot bounced in and out of the basket as the RSU suffered its second straight defeat.

    February 10, 2012

  • SequoyahVsChelsea_231cweb.jpg Tharp sparks Chelsea past Sequoyah, 59-48

    The Chelsea Green Dragons used a 33-point second-half performance to steal the spotlight from the Claremore Sequoyah Eagles.
    Lonnie Tharp tallied a game-high 23 points to spark the Green Dragons to a 59-48 over Claremore Sequoyah on Senior Night at the Olan Graham Fieldhouse.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • SequoyahVsChelsea_155web.jpg Lady Eagles soar on Senior Night

    Claremore Sequoyah senior guard Berdena Anderson made her last home game memorable Thursday night, using a 12-point performance to spark the Lady Eagles past Chelsea, 33-25.
    Anderson drained a pair of treys in the second quarter as the Lady Eagles clung to a 15-11 halftime lead.
    Chelsea’s tenacious defense, led by point guard Danielle Wolf, held Anderson to one field goal and 4-of-4 free throws in the final 16 minutes.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Zebras host 6A Bartlesville tonight

    With the regional tournament two weeks away, the Claremore Zebras are hoping to gain a little momentum and steal an upset win over Class 6A Bartlesville tonight.
    The Zebras (5-14) extended their losing to six-straight games Tuesday night, falling to Skiatook, 53-47. To make matters worse, Claremore senior point guard Garrick Prelesnick also was sidelined in the first quarter with an injury to his foot.
    The status of whether Prelesnick would play against Bartlesville remained uncertain at press time.
    Tonight’s doubleheader tips off at 6:30 and 8 p.m. inside the Zebra Fieldhouse.

    February 10, 2012

  • Verdigris travels to Tahlequah Sequoyah tonight

    The Verdigris High School basketball teams resume regular season action tonight on the road at Tahlequah Sequoyah.
    Game times are set for 6:30 and 8 p.m.

    February 10, 2012

  • OSU visits tradition-rich Kansas on Saturday

    The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team travels to Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday for a matchup with the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks.
    Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. inside Phog Allen Fieldhouse, and the game will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KTUL Ch. 8 in Tulsa).

    February 10, 2012

  • Tulsa softball starts season today in Louisiana

    The No. 24-ranked Tulsa softball team opens the 2012 season this weekend at the 26th Annual Louisiana Classics Softball Tournament, beginning with a game against Rutgers at 11 a.m. today at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La.

    TU will also face Mississippi Valley State at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday, the Hurricane plays the host and No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette at 3:30 p.m. and Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. Tulsa rounds out the tournament against ULL at noon on Sunday. Live stats for every game of the weekend can be found here.
     
    The Golden Hurricane opens its 20th season ranked in the preseason top-25 for the first time in program history in the 24th spot by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The 2011 C-USA co-Champions, TU ended the 2011 season with a 46-15 overall record, and a 19-5 mark in league play.

    February 10, 2012

  • Tulsa's Mayberry hits career milestone against Houston

    Taleya Mayberry raced down the court after grabbing a defensive rebound, and she banked home a fast-break layup at the 8:28 mark of the second half.

    The basket gave her 1,001 points for her career, and she became just the eighth member of the Tulsa women's basketball team to reach the career milestone as TU defeated Houston 67-53 Sunday afternoon inside Donald W. Reynolds Center.

    February 10, 2012