More New Cases In Disease Outbreak At School -- Meningitis Drugs Given To Denny Students, Staff

Two more children were admitted to the hospital last night in connection with an outbreak of meningitis, as health officials worked to stop the spread of the potentially deadly disease.

One, a 13-year-old boy with confirmed meningitis, is a student at West Seattle's Denny Middle School, where the outbreak has been centered. The other, a 4 1/2-year-old boy undergoing tests for the disease, is the brother of another Denny student who has the disease. Both are in Children's Hospital, along with four other Denny students confirmed with the illness.

A total of six youths have been diagnosed, including one who was discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Three adults have died from the disease in King County in recent weeks, but none is confirmed to have had any connection to the school.

Two of the adults - men who worked in West Seattle - had the same Group B strain of the bacteria as the students, but experts haven't found any contact with the youths. The third case, a woman, had a different strain.

Seattle-King County Health Department officials today continued dispensing antibiotics at the school and at Columbia Public Health Center.

Health officers hoped to get the antibiotic rifampin to all 975 Denny students, faculty and staff members by tonight. About 800 had received the medicine by early afternoon today.

"The important thing is to get it to all the students and staff," said Dr. Russell Alexander, chief epidemiologist for the Health Department. The drug lasts only three days, and those who didn't receive it could infect others whose doses have worn off.

"The whole idea is to get rid of the meningococcal bacteria from the nose and throat of those who might have it, so we can eliminate even a chance of them developing severe illness," said Janice Boase, a Health Department nurse-epidemiologist, as worried parents and children flocked to the health center for their medicine.

About 15 to 20 King County residents a year come down with meningitis. About 5 percent of the population carries the bacteria in the nose or throat.

But no one knows why some become severely ill from the bug, Neisseria meningitidis. The older the patient, the worse the disease tends to be.

Boase said more than one case in a school is "very unusual."

The type of meningitis affecting the Denny students typically causes a fever of at least 102 degrees and one or more of several other symptoms: severe headache, stiff neck and back, difficulty breathing, painful joints and a bluish skin rash. With quick treatment, the fatality rate is less than 10 percent.

The Denny students, all seventh- and eighth-graders, had direct contact with one another - some were at a Valentine's Day dance last week, some are in the school band together.

After the first student was confirmed with the disease last week, the Health Department sent warnings about the symptoms home with students. As four more cases were confirmed through Saturday, officials decided to offer the free antibiotics.

"It's really scary," said Farm Thung as she sat with her 11-year-old son, Sunsky Saeteun, yesterday to get the antibiotics at the health center. "He had a runny nose, and all night last night I kept putting my hand on him to see if he had a fever."

Sunsky seemed less concerned about his sniffles and a bit relieved that it was pills rather than a shot he had to take. "I like this kind - they swallow easy," he said, showing the dark-red capsules that he must take twice a day for two days.

Some parents came to the health center yesterday because their children had had contact with other Denny students. But health officials assured them that the pills were recommended only for those who might have had direct contact with a known carrier of the bacteria.

"I'm worried because my daughter's throat has been hurting," said Marlene King, whose daughter, Latrina, a Sealth High School junior, rode the school bus with Denny students. Her son, Erroll, a Denny sixth-grader, received the pills and said he wasn't concerned.

For the youngsters who had the fast-developing disease and their parents, it was a scary, bewildering experience.

On Friday afternoon, Tammie Oreiro, 12, began vomiting, then her fever climbed to nearly 105 degrees during the night. Her physician said she probably had the flu. But her mother, Carol, watched in horror as the girl developed another symptom listed in the Health Department warning sent home Friday: a bluish rash on her feet.

"When I talked to her, she would answer with just one word, then quickly go back to sleep. I got really scared," said Carol Oreiro, speaking from Tammie's hospital room.

On Saturday morning, she took Tammie to Children's, and doctors soon confirmed the disease with a spinal tap. She was put on intravenous antibiotics and closely monitored.

"I sorta didn't know what was happening. . . . I just really didn't care," said Tammie, a Denny seventh-grader. "Then I was scared because my friend . . . was in the intensive-care unit, and I didn't know if she was going to be OK."

Tammie was feeling much better yesterday. Her mother was relieved but exhausted from the ordeal.

"I've just never experienced anything like this," said Oreiro.

"I was so terrified. I mean, Tammie hardly ever even gets a cold."

Jason Grant, a 25-year-old steelworker from SeaTac who died of the disease on Feb. 4, also had a fast-developing case.

"He only had symptoms the night before, then died in his sleep," his sister Lisa Grant said this morning.

Grant said her brother felt like he had the flu, with a stiff neck, difficult breathing and restlessness. She said his girlfriend checked on him about 2 a.m. and he was OK, then discovered him dead in bed about seven hours later.

Jason Grant was an employee of Bethlehem Steel in West Seattle, but because of his shift schedule, had not been at the plant for a week. Alexander of the Health Department said there was no chance any of the workers contracted the germ from Grant.

Alexander said the Health Department was taking throat cultures of 200 Denny students, trying to get an idea of how many were carrying the bacteria. They will analyze students who were at the dance, riding the bus, or any other patterns to see how the bacteria might have spread.

He said experts also are analyzing the bacteria to see if they are in the ET-5 subgroup. An unusually virulent variety, it was first discovered in Norway and South America and more recently was found in Oregon and Clark County.

----------------------------- SOME ANSWERS ABOUT MENINGITIS ----------------------------- Q.: When will more Seattle-King County Health Department clinics be held for distribution of to get the free meningitis-preventing capsules? A.: Today from 5 to 7 p.m. at Denny Middle School, 8402 30th Ave. S.W., and until 4:30 p.m. at Columbia Public Health Center, 4400 37th Ave. S.

Q. Who may receive the free capsules of the antibiotic rifampin? A. Any Denny student, faculty or staff member, or anyone who has had direct contact with one of the Denny students with meningitis.

Q. What is meningococcal disease? A. Caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, it is a serious illness that sometimes results in swelling of the membranes covering the spinal cord and brain. It may also cause blood infections, pneumonia or arthritis. If treated quickly, it is fatal in less than 10 percent of cases.

Q. How is it spread? A. Through the air by droplets from the nose and throat.

Q. How common is it? A. About 5 percent of the population may carry the bacteria, but very few become ill. No one knows why some do get sick. About 15 to 20 differs from story? jm. King County residents a year come down with meningococcal disease.

Q. What are symptoms of the disease? A. A fever of at least 102 degrees and any of the following: headache, stiff neck and back, difficulty breathing, painful joints, bluish skin rash.

Q. Where can I call for additional information about the disease? A. The Health Department at 296-4774.