Viral-meningitis outbreak shuts Ocean Beach School District

ILWACO, Pacific County — An outbreak of viral meningitis has prompted Ocean Beach School District officials here to cancel classes today so the schools can be disinfected, Pacific County Health Director Kathy Spoor said.

Last night's school events also were canceled.

A new case of viral meningitis was reported yesterday at Ilwaco Senior High School. The combined junior and senior high school now has nine confirmed cases, along with 10 suspected cases.

School officials also said there was a probable case of viral meningitis at an elementary school in the Southwest Washington district.

Meanwhile, in Northwest Washington's Skagit County, a 14-year-old La Conner High School student with the more serious bacterial meningitis was described Wednesday as in critical condition in a Seattle hospital, the Skagit Valley Herald reported.

An update on his condition was not available last night because of federal privacy laws.

Health officials in Skagit and Snohomish counties were giving antibiotics to 125 people who may have been exposed to the potentially fatal bacterial meningitis. They include students and staff members at La Conner High School, La Conner and Concrete junior varsity football players, and members of an intramural basketball league that played last weekend in Mount Vernon.

The infected boy is a member of the junior-varsity-football team that played Concrete in La Conner. He also was on an intramural-basketball team that played a Marysville team Sunday at Skagit Valley College.

As a precaution, La Conner has postponed a scheduled home football game tonight against Forks High.

The bacterial meningitis case is not related to an outbreak two weeks ago of the less-serious viral meningitis that infected 14 members of the Mount Vernon football team.

Viral meningitis is often spread through direct contact with saliva or nasal mucus.