Pneumonia by Bacterial Neisseria Meningitidis

The Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department has confirmed a case of pneumonia by bacterial neisseria meningitidis.

Dr. Vicki Whitacre said the 12-year-old from Philo has been released from the hospital.  An earlier report that the child had meningitis was incorrect.

"This particular case was not a meningitis case," said Whitacre.  "It was a pneumonia case.  We don’t understand in medicine why one person gets pneumonia, but another may get meningitis from that bacteria."

The child attends Philo Junior High School, which has been disinfected to prevent the spread of the disease.  Whitacre said that friends, family members and direct contacts of the child have been identified and are being treated.

"To be at risk, you need to be in close proximity about three feet from the person for about an eight hour period of time, so we only targeted those people," said Whitacre.

The disease is spread by direct contact with an infected person through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions.  Early symptoms include high fever, cough, headache and a stiff neck.  For more information, visit www.zmchd.org.