FROM THE REGION.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

COLUMN: FROM THE REGION

Hopedale

Hopedale school staffer has bacterial meningitis

HOPEDALE - A staff member at Hopedale Junior-Senior High School has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, according to school and state public health officials.

School Superintendent Dennis J. Breen said the staff member has been hospitalized since Saturday, and has been on antibiotics.

"They feel she is doing quite well," he said.

Meningitis is an infection of the meninges - the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. Viral meningitis, the most common type, is caused by an infection with one of several types of viruses and generally requires no specific treatment. Meningitis can also be caused by several types of bacteria or fungi.

Mr. Breen said state public health officials will continue to monitor the situation, but the staffer appears to be the only case.

The school sent automated calls to parents Wednesday afternoon to inform them of the case, and a notice was posted on the school website.

Mr. Breen asked state health officials if there is anything school personnel should do to help prevent more cases from developing, but they told him there is little chance that more people will become sick.

The viruses and bacteria that cause meningitis may be spread person-to-person through saliva or feces, depending on which bacteria or virus is causing the illness, but most people who are exposed do not develop a serious illness. It is not known why a few people who are exposed to these bacteria and viruses get seriously ill and most others do not, according to health officials.

Young people are most likely to contract the disease, and Massachusetts is among several states requiring college students living in campus housing to be vaccinated.

Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, headache, and stiff neck, and possibly mental confusion, tiredness, vomiting and a rash.

Meningitis victims can become very sick quickly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 10 percent of cases are fatal, and 11 to 19 percent of survivors suffer serious after-effects, such as deafness or loss of a limb.

Marlboro

$33 million grant OK'd for Assabet Valley

The state School Building Authority this week approved a $33 million grant toward a $62.4 million renovation project at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School.

The remainder of the cost of the project will be shared by the district's seven member communities: Marlboro, Berlin, Hudson, Maynard...