February 7, 2004

PATTERSON -- A 10-year-old Patterson boy died Wednesday from what may have been bacterial meningitis, authorities and the child's mother said Friday.

The Patterson Unified School District has warned parents at Las Palmas Elementary School, where the boy, Christopher Michael Pearson, was in the fourth grade, to watch their children carefully for any symptoms of the communicable disease.

"The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency has informed us that they do not believe there is any risk to other students at this point," student services director Ellen Hinkle advised parents in a letter sent Jan. 28.

Trudi Prevette, a registered nurse for the county Health Services Agency, said the risk is considered minimal because by the time school officials were notified Jan. 27, the boy already had been out of school sick for longer than 10 days.

Prevette said the incubation period -- the time between infection and getting sick -- is up to 10 days for bacterial meningitis.

Antibiotics were not given to others at the school, Prevette said, because antibiotics do not serve as a preventive measure, except in cases of meningococcal meningitis, which the boy did not have.

Symptoms to watch for include a sudden onset of fever, chills, vomiting, headache, stiff neck, sleepiness, confusion, irritability and sometimes a rash, Hinkle's letter stated.

In 2003, Stanislaus County recorded 11 cases of meningococcal meningitis, nine cases of other bacterial meningitis and 148 cases of viral meningitis, Prevette said. She did not know how many deaths were caused by meningitis last year, but said one or two deaths typically are recorded each year, mostly from the meningococcal variety.

Cynthia Chavez, Christopher's mother, said of her son's illness, "It was caught too late."

Her son's last day of school was Jan. 16 -- a Friday, according to Hinkle's letter to parents. Schools were closed Jan. 19 for the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

Diagnosis was flu

On the weekend, Chris and a friend waded in an irrigation canal behind Roadrunner Drive, in the new Heartland Ranch subdivision, his mother said.

The next Tuesday, Chavez said, she took her son to a clinic after he developed diarrhea, vomiting, the worst headache of his life and stiffness in his neck.

Doctors said the child had "a bad case of the flu," and prescribed bed rest and over-the-counter medicine, Chavez said.

By Friday, her son was worse, with a 104-degree fever, Chavez said. She took him to a different doctor.

"He could not even open his jaw," Chavez said. "The doctor had to pry his mouth open."

But that doctor did not diagnose meningitis, either, Chavez said. He told her to bring the child back Monday, when they would do blood tests. She was told to keep him in a dark room because light caused him pain, and give him adult-strength Tylenol.

"By Monday afternoon, he could not walk," Chavez said of her son. She drove him to a Tracy emergency room. That was where doctors first diagnosed a suspected case of bacterial meningitis.

California law requires that meningitis cases be reported to authorities.

Stanislaus County health authorities learned of the suspected bacterial meningitis case Jan. 27 from Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, Prevette said.

"He was in a coma," Chavez said of her son's condition by the time he arrived at Tracy.

From there, he was flown by medical helicopter to Children's Hospital Oakland. He died there, nine days later, without regaining consciousness, Chavez said.

"He was our only child," Chavez said.

She said she shared the details of his illness because she did not want any other family to wait too long to recognize the disease.

"Cerebral edema, meningitis" is listed as the cause of death on Chris' death certificate. But Prevette cautioned: "It's not even known for sure that he had meningitis. We don't have a final diagnosis."

The only way to diagnose meningitis in a living patient is to perform a spinal tap, Prevette said.

Laboratory tests pending

A definite diagnosis will not be possible until all laboratory tests are complete, Prevette said. Tests have ruled out meningococcus, the most common type of bacterial meningitis, Prevette said.

Other types of bacteria also can cause meningitis, she said, if they get into spinal fluid.

There is a vaccine against meningitis, she said, but it is not routinely given because it is expensive and offers protection for only three years.

Since the disease can be spread by bodily secretions and coughing, Hinkle told parents that children should be reminded to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough.

Hinkle's letter advised parents to contact their own doctors, or the county Health Services Agency at 558-7000, if their children show any symptoms that the parents think could be related to meningitis.

Bee staff writer Blair Craddock can be reached at 892-1794 or bcraddock@modbee.com.

Reprinted by permission of the Modesto Bee.