Bacterial Meningitis Confirmed In Lafayette Kindergartner

Corrected October 21

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — The Tippecanoe School Corp. is making antibiotics available to people who may have had direct contact with a kindergartner who has tested positive for bacterial meningitis.

District spokeswoman Sue Scott said Wednesday that the antibiotics would be dispersed Thursday afternoon at Mintonye Elementary School, where the student is enrolled.

She says the district is working with state and county health officials to identify students and staff who may have come in contact with the student.

The Tippecanoe County Health Department says the affected student is under medical supervision and no longer contagious.

Symptoms of the disease include sudden fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion and sometimes rashes. It can cause brain damage, hearing loss, learning disabilities and death.

In a story Oct. 19 about a Lafayette kindergartner diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, The Associated Press erroneously reported when the Tippecanoe School Corp. would disperse antibiotics at Mintonye Elementary School to people who had direct contact with the student. The school district said the antibiotics would be dispersed Thursday afternoon, not every afternoon.