Meningitis in Schools: What Parents Need to Know

Question
Recently there was a teenager in high school who has been hopitalized with meningitis.  My kids are both in elementary school.  It has been confirmed by someone I know that works in the district that there have been confirmed cases of meningitis in my kids elementary school but they have all the staff keeping it a big secret.  Are the schools supposed to inform the department of health or the parents of this disease exposure?  As a treating physician are they required to report it?  As a mother I feel they should as I would rather be aware of what symptoms to look for rather than miss them and end up with a child in the hospital.

Answer
Hi Lori,

Each state has its own laws. I am not an attorney so I cannot interpret or give you the precise legal standpoint. From my experience, it is the "social responsibility" of the school to inform all parents. However, there are very few legal implications if they decide not to. The only legal implication is if another student got infected due to their negligence which is definitely hard to prove.

If you are very concern, the only way to gather all parents and demand your city council members to pass a legislation requiring schools in your district to inform parents of infectious agents. Many parents have done this and have been successful; however, it will take the initiative and responsibility of one parent to gather, coordinate, and be the team leader.

Physicians are not required to report meningitis cases to the health department, as it could be caused by bacterial, viral, or fungal agents. Public facilities (i.e. restrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, etc) are susceptible to bacterial meningitis.

I highly recommend that you take your children to their pediatrician to have the meningitis vaccine. It only protects against a "few" strains of the bacterial meningitis.

Regards,

John Thai, MD